What happens when children don’t have health insurance? Their families are exposed to greater financial risk if an accident or asthma attack puts their child in the emergency room. They are less likely to get regular check-ups and health services to keep them developmentally on track. For infants and toddlers, missing regular check-ups risks leaving health conditions or developmental delays undetected until they become more costly to treat later. And importantly, those more frequent well-child visits in the first three years of life offer the broadest way to reach every family before their child enters kindergarten.
Earlier this summer, we shared an analysis looking at the growing uninsured rate for children under age 6. Our latest brief looks at similar coverage trends for infants and toddlers (birth up to age 3). Nationally we see the same alarming increase in uninsurance rates for children under 3, rising a full percentage point to 5.1% in 2024. That increase translates to about 113,000 more infants and toddlers without health insurance between 2022 and 2024.
With football season about to start, I’ll put it in stadium terms: The increase in uninsured infants and toddlers alone could fill Michigan Stadium, and would exceed the capacity of most other college football stadiums, including those of my other “home” state teams – the Arkansas Razorbacks (75,000) and UVA’s Cavaliers (60,000). But even more alarmingly, the total number of uninsured infants and toddlers– more than 500,000 in 2024– would exceed the population of most of our nation’s towns and cities. Even one baby without insurance is one too many.
Of course, this varies by state. At least nine states showed a significant increase in the rate of uninsured infants and toddlers from 2022 to 2024. Among those with the highest rates in 2024, Wyoming (10.5%), Texas (9.3%), and Oklahoma (9.1%) lead among the 18 states that exceeded the national rate of 5.1% uninsured children under 3.
As we’ve said before, 2024 data is likely to be a harbinger of things to come if we don’t begin to prioritize strong Medicaid coverage for children. Why? We know that uninsured rates tend to go up when Medicaid enrollment declines, 2024 was no exception, and we’ve already seen well over 2 million children lose Medicaid coverage since the beginning of 2025.
What does Medicaid mean for infants and toddlers? In 2024, 40% of U.S. infants and toddlers are covered by Medicaid or CHIP. In 20 states, at least 4 in 10 infants and toddlers are covered by Medicaid and CHIP. The program covers more than half of infants and toddlers in Oklahoma (51.4%), Mississippi (54.5%), Louisiana (55.6%), and New Mexico (66.5%). See the map below from the report for your state.
We’ve already detailed our many concerns on the ways H.R. 1 and Trump Administration actions risk further coverage declines for children. We also know all too well that health care is merely one of the many areas creating added stress for families with young children. If making everyday ends meet wasn’t enough, the Administration’s vaccine policy shifts, proposals to dismantle many of the best parts of Head Start and Early Head Start, and aggressive immigration enforcement add additional layers of stress and fear on families. Infants and toddlers are bearing the brunt of adult policy decisions that are already rolling back decades of progress. Our nation’s future is at stake.