Public News Service

By: Suzanne Potter

According to the new research report by Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families, between 2013 and 2015, Arizona has reduced the rate of uninsured children by 30%. This contributes to the historical high 95% rate of insured children nationwide. Joan Alker, the executive director and co-author of the report, attributes this historical rate largely to the healthcare reform.

However, Arizona still has room to work, because 8.3% of its children are still uninsured – which is the third highest uninsured rate nationwide. This is due to the fact that Arizona was the only state that did not permit families to enroll in KidsCare (Arizona’s CHIP version).

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Arizona cut the number of uninsured kids by 30 percent between 2013 and 2015, according to a new report by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families.

The nation as a whole posted a record – with less than five percent of all children remaining uninsured. Researchers credited the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act for insuring more adults, who then signed their kids up as well. Joan Alker, executive director at the Georgetown center and co-author of the report, said polls show most Americans are not aware of the success of these programs.

“About half of Americans thought the number of uninsured children was actually increasing. Only 28 percent were aware that the number has actually gone down,” Alker said. “So this is a success that we’ve had as a country, it’s not well known and it’s something we can all feel good about.”

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