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California Marks Big Gains in Reducing Number of Uninsured Children

Public News Service California 

By Suzanne Potter

October 29th, 2015

LOS ANGELES – Since the Affordable Care Act went into full effect in 2014, California has dropped the number of uninsured children in the state by 176,000 – more than any other state.

According to report coauthor Joan Alker, when California expanded Medicaid for adults, the state also signed up a significant number of kids who were eligible but not yet enrolled. “People don’t think about Medicaid expansion as a kids’ issue, but we know from past research that covering parents results in what we call a strong ‘welcome-mat’ effect for kids,” she says. “That means when the parent learns about their own coverage opportunity, they may learn their child is also eligible.”

Read more here.