Study: More Kids In U.S. Have Health Insurance
Targeted News Service |
A new
Prepared by researchers at the
"Reducing the number of children who lack health insurance has been a focus of state and federal policy-makers for years, and it's encouraging to see that tremendous progress has been made," said
The analysis shows that despite more children obtaining insurance during the country's recession and ongoing economic recovery, how kids obtained coverage has changed. In 2008, 64.5 percent of children were covered through private insurance. By 2012, just 59.0 percent had private insurance. Researchers say an increase in public coverage--including
The report also shows:
- Differences in children's insurance status by household income were reduced. Children in households with family incomes below 138 percent of the federal poverty line were most likely to be uninsured, but also experienced the greatest gains in coverage (15.5 percent uninsured in 2008 vs. 10.4 percent in 2012). Researchers say the gap between uninsured children in lower- and higher-income households is narrowing. In 2008, children in the lowest-income households were 5.3 times more likely than children in higher-income households to be uninsured; by 2012 this gap narrowed to 4.5 times.
- Racial and ethnic disparities in insurance status among children were reduced. While the percentage of children with insurance coverage rose across the board, Hispanic and non-white children experienced the greatest gains. In 2008, 9.6 percent of non-white children were uninsured; in 2012, 7.1 percent of this group was without coverage. In 2008, 18.3 percent of Hispanic children were uninsured; in 2012, 12.6 percent were. Because non-white and Hispanic children experienced greater gains in coverage, the disparities in coverage between these groups and white children were reduced.
- The increase in kids having insurance coverage was widespread across the nation. No state showed an increase in its percentage of uninsured kids between 2008 and 2012. The percentages of uninsured children varied considerably, however, by state--from a high of 17.0 percent of children in
Six states saw their rates of uninsured children decline by five or more percentage points:
Although the health insurance provisions of the Affordable Act (ACA) impact adults more than children, the researchers say that children will be affected as well. For example, some uninsured children will gain coverage through the premium tax credits available on insurance exchanges. Also, children who were eligible, but not enrolled in
"This report provides an important baseline for measuring the effects of the Affordable Care Act on uninsured children over time and across states," said
SHADAC analyzed the most recent data available from the
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