Quick Facts about Child and Family Coverage
1. Most children and families have health care coverage.
Children and families in the United States receive health coverage through two primary sources: employer coverage and publicly-funded programs. 1
2. A large number of children and adults remain uninsured.
As of 2008, 8.1 million children under age 19 and 37.6 million adults (including 11 million parents) had no health care coverage.2 The number of uninsured in the country is the function of a number of factors, including the availability and cost of employer coverage, access and eligibility for public programs, and a family's ability to pay for either form of coverage.3. Health coverage is vital to healthy development.
Children who are uninsured are more likely to go without immunizations and miss school because of untreated illness. Due to their decreased access to primary and preventive care, they are also more likely to end up seeking care in emergency rooms.3 Coverage is important to adults as well, helping them get timely medical care and improving their long-term health outcomes.44. Families are discovering it harder to find and pay for health coverage.
Rapidly rising health care costs and declines in the number of families able to secure coverage through their jobs has made it more difficult for families to afford coverage. In 2009, the cost of health insurance rose 5 percent. Since 1999, the percentage of employers that offer health coverage has dropped by 6 percentage points, with smaller firms, firms that employ more low-wage workers, and those with a greater number of part-time staff less likely to offer coverage. Employers often cite the high cost of health insurance as the reason they do not offer coverage.55. Public programs play a critical role, especially for children.
Public health insurance programs have helped stem the tide of rising uninsured rates among children; 29.7 percent of children (around 23.4 million children) receive health coverage through Medicaid or the Children's Health Coverage Program (CHIP).6 In addition, of uninsured children, close to two-thirds are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP.7 On a much smaller scale, approximately 12 percent of parents receive coverage through public programs, including Medicaid and CHIP. 8The number of uninsured Americans rose by 600,000 between 2007 and 2008. However, the number of uninsured children decreased by almost 800,000 from 8.1 million to 7.3 million, the lowest level since 1987. This progress is a testament to the effectiveness of public programs, which were largely responsible for this movement.9
For More Information
View Facts and Statistics See Additional Resources- Health Coverage of Children: The Role of Medicaid and CHIP. This fact sheet summarizes the latest coverage data on the nation's children and examines the key role played by Medicaid and CHIP.
- Health Insurance Coverage in America, 2008. This chartbook by the Kaiser Family Foundation provides detailed data on health coverage status.
- statehealthfacts. This website provides facts and data on health coverage, the uninsured, Medicaid, and CHIP, both nationally and by state.
Footnotes
1. Urban Institute and Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured estimates based on the Census Bureau's March 2008 and 2009 Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplements. Back
2. Ibid. Back
3. P. Newacheck, J. Stoddard, D. Hughes, & M. Pearl, "Health Insurance and Access to Primary Care for Children," New England Journal of Medicine, 338: 513-519 (1998); L. Olson, S. Tang, & P. Newacheck, "Children in the United States with Discontinuous Health Insurance," New England Journal of Medicine, 353: 382-391 (2005); G. Stevens, M. Seid, & N. Halfon, "Enrolling Vulnerable, Uninsured, but Eligible Children in Public Health Insurance: Association with Health Status and Primary Care Access," Pediatrics, 117: 751-759 (2006); W. Johnson & M. Rimsza, "The Effects of Access to Pediatric Care and Insurance Coverage on Emergency Department Utilization," Pediatrics, 113: 483-487 (2004); and Institute of Medicine (2002), "Health Insurance is a Family Matter," Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Back
4. R. B. Bovbjerg & J. Hadley, "Health Policy Briefs: Why Health Insurance Is Important," The Urban Institute, (November 2007); J. Hadley, "Sicker and Poorer," Medical Research and Review, 60(2): 3S-75S (2002). Back
5. The Kaiser Family Foundation & Health Research and Educational Trust, "Employer Health Benefits: 2009 Annual Survey," (September 2009). Back
6. op. cit. (1) Back
7. J. Hudson & T. Selden, "Children's Eligibility and Coverage: Recent Trends and a Look Ahead," Health Affairs (August 16, 2007). Back
8. op. cit. (1) Back
9. C. DeNavas-Walt, B. Proctor, & J. Smith, "Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008," U.S. Census Bureau (September 2009); and J. Holahan & A. Cook, "Changes in Health Insurance Coverage, 2007-2008: Early Impact of the Recession," Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (October 2009). Back