Coverage has dramatically increased among children residing in that state.
Even though the state of Ohio has been facing notable struggles with poverty rates, the children in the state have benefited from increasing health insurance coverage.
This is particularly true in the 2011 statistics from Ross County.
The number of uninsured children in Ross County fell from having been 9.1 percent in 2010, to a miniscule 0.9 percent last year. That accomplishment exceeded the state-wide scores, which dropped from 6 percent to 5.8 percent for children who did not have health insurance.
This health insurance data was gleaned from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
The rise in the number of kids who have health insurance has arrived at a time when the income average across Ohio has remained essentially stagnant. Moreover, the percentage of families – particularly those who have children – who were in the poor category faced a slight increase. Within Ross County, the percentage of poor families that have kids dropped from 23.3 percent to 22.5 percent from 2010 to last year.
According to the National Center for Children in Poverty’s Curtis Skinner, there are many different reasons that the number of children in Ohio who have coverage is on the rise. Skinner pointed out that overall, coverage is better for kids than for adults because they are eligible for Medicaid or for the children’s health insurance programs.
Skinner also suggested that it could be that Ohio made a greater and more effective effort in its promotion of its kids health insurance coverage program. He also indicated that a larger number of families may have qualified to take part in that benefit due to reduced or lost wages or employment. It was not likely the result of an increase in private coverage, he said.
Ohio Children’s Hospital Association spokesperson, Angela Krile, explained that she was also not capable of identifying one single reason that children were experiencing such a notable increase in their health insurance coverage. She stated that one in every three Ohio kids is currently enrolled in Medicaid, which provides poor families with coverage. To Krile, this showed how important Medicaid is to the kids residing in the state.
