KUER 90.1
By: Erik Neumann
For the first time in nearly a decade, fewer kids in Utah have health coverage, according to a new report from Georgetown University. KUER’s Erik Neumann spoke with Joan Alker, executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families about the new report and what’s behind this trend.
Erik Neumann: This report was just released that tracked the uninsured rates of children in the U.S. What’s the takeaway from this report?
Joan Alker: What we’ve seen is that children are losing public coverage. That’s primarily coverage through the Medicaid program, to a lesser degree the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. So, even though the economy is good and more kids are getting covered through their parents’ job, this loss of public coverage has unfortunately led the uninsured kids number to go up.
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