KATV

By: Zack Briggs

A new study indicates youth without health insurance across the nation including Arkansas increased from 2016 to 2017. The report, which was conducted by the Georgetown University Center, shows the number of children under age 19 rose an estimated 276,000 to 3.92 million. That’s a “historic low” of 4.7 percent in 2016 to 5 percent in 2017. Arkansas’ uninsured rate among children increased from 4 to 4.4 percent. That’s 30,000 youth in 2016 and 33,000 in 2017.

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Lawmakers on the state and federal level continue to address the issue by expanding public programs like Medicaid. ARKids First was established in 1997 to serve more than 70,000 children for pediatric services. Community Health Centers of Arkansas works to improve access across the state by going to schools and coordinating with clinics, providing the necessary resources to enroll families.

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