November 20, 2013
By Mary Kuhlman,
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Efforts to expand health-care coverage to Illinois children are paying off, according to a new report.
The Georgetown University Center for Children and Families found that, while poverty rates are still high, Illinois saw a decrease of slightly more than 1 percent in the number of uninsured children in the state from 2010 to 2012, and an almost 1 percent drop nationwide.
Joan Alker, the center’s executive director, credits a combination of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, as well as states such as Illinois that are working to get more kids enrolled.
“Very few Americans are aware of the success that our country has had through Medicaid and CHIP in reducing the number of uninsured children,” Alker said, “and I think that’s an important ‘good news’ story that needs to get out.”
Both programs have helped during difficult economic times to cover children in families who lose their health insurance and can’t afford to buy it on their own, Alker said. The report ranked Illinois fifth in the nation for its rate of progress in covering more kids.
Kathy Waligora, health reform outreach coordinator for EverThrive Illinois, said she isn’t surprised by the numbers. She credited the All Kids program, which provides health coverage for Illinois children in families with incomes up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level, regardless of immigration status – and said it has taken a lot of work by advocates for families.
“We didn’t get to 3 percent uninsured overnight. We took years. ‘All Kids’ was implemented in 2006,” she said. “We’ve had programs for these children, but it’s taken a lot of time, a lot of education and a community effort to get to where we are now.”
With an estimated 100,000 children still uninsured in Illinois, Waligora said, a continued commitment is critical.
“When we look at urban areas’ low-income families, those rates are higher,” she said. “So, it reminds me that there is still work to be done, to get to a point where all kids have access to the insurance they deserve.”
Most uninsured children already are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP but are not enrolled, Waligora said, adding that she believes the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion will help more children get health insurance in the coming years.
The report and poll are online at ccf.georgetown.edu.
