October 26, 2012
By David Pittman
The number of uninsured children fell nationally last year to 5.5 million from 6.4 million 2 years prior, yet 30 states saw no significant change in their rate of coverage, a report showed.
Despite 900,000 more children added to insurance rolls since 2009, more than half of those gains came from just three states — California, Texas, and Florida — the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute said this week.
Most states held steady, showing little or no progress in their covering children despite an improving economy, the report, Uninsured Children 2009-2011, said.
And one state, Hawaii, saw a major increase in the number of children without insurance.
Still, 92.5% of American children are insured.
To come up with those numbers, Georgetown researchers Joan Alker and colleagues analyzed data from the Census Bureau’s 2009 and 2011 American Community Survey.
They attributed what progress was made in shrinking the ranks of the uninsured to states’ commitment to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) as well as the protection of children’s eligibility levels in the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
“While progress can and should continue over the next year, full and successful implementation of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act provides the next big opportunity for a sharp decline in the number of uninsured children,” the report said.
The ACA will benefit children in a number of ways by:
- Creating a “culture of coverage” that will likely result in more children gaining insurance after the ACA’s individual mandate starts January 2014
- Stipulating a child must be covered before their parent enrolls in Medicaid, further ensuring that children are covered
- Expanding Medicaid to effectively cover those up to 138% of the federal poverty level
However, roughly two-thirds of the uninsured children eligible for Medicaid and CHIP are not enrolled.
“It will be important for state and federal policymakers to continue to move forward aggressively to reduce the number of uninsured children by eliminating red tape and ensuring that eligible children are enrolled,” the report writers said.
Significant racial disparities also exist in children’s coverage.
While 5.4% of whites lack coverage, the rates are higher among blacks (6.4%), Asians (7.7%), and Hispanics (12.8%), the Georgetown study found. In fact, Hispanics account for 40% of the nation’s uninsured children, despite making up just 24% of the population.
Children who are living in lower income families, those age 6 or older, or living in rural areas are more likely to be uninsured.
Massachusetts remains the leader in healthcare coverage of children with 98.3% enrolled in some form of plan. Nevada has the highest rate of uninsured with 16.2%.
Texas and Oregon led the nation with declines of 3.1% in the rate of uninsured children, with Florida close behind at 2.9%. However, Texas and Florida had the biggest gains to make as each started with a high rate of uninsured children, the report writers said.
Speaking to the fact that 30 states saw no significant change in their rate of uninsured children, the report writers noted: “Given the ongoing national success, these findings should sound a cautionary note for policymakers in these states, showing that progress has slowed as compared to national trends,” the report stated.
