A paper released this week by Health Affairs created a new model, using data from The American Community Survey, which enabled researchers to produce meaningful national and state estimates. Some of the key findings include that:
· According to coverage estimates, an estimated 7.3 million children were uninsured on an average day in 2008, of whom 4.7 million (65 percent) were eligible for Medicaid or CHIP but not enrolled
· Participation rates varied across states from 55 percent to 95 percent
· Ten states had participation rates at or above 90 percent
· Thirty-nine percent of eligible uninsured children (1.8 million) live in just three states—California, Texas, and Florida—and 61 percent (2.9 million) are concentrated in ten states.
“This new data will help us to focus our efforts and our grant funding where they are most needed,” Sebelius said. “We now have a much better sense of where most uninsured children live, and which communities may need more help.”
The new report Five Million Eligible But Uninsured: Who and Where Are the Children Yet to Enroll in Medicaid And The Children’s Health Insurance Program? was released in Health Affairs on-line today along with a Health Affairs Commentary by Secretary Sebelius, Rising to the Challenge: Tools for Enrolling Eligible Children in Health Coverage.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan also sent out a press release to highlight the Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge to enroll five million children in Medicaid and CHIP within five years. Since Sebelius announced the Challenge last February, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have built a coalition of partners, ranging from state governors to national advocacy organizations, who have stepped up to the challenge to enroll kids and educate families.
More information on the Secretary’s Challenge can be found at www.insurekidsnow.gov.