The economy has placed a growing number of children into homes below the poverty line, but a recent study has shown that over the last three years, the number of children who are uninsured in terms of health coverage has actually dropped by 1 million.
The study was performed by Georgetown University, which just released the results. Several states have widened and/or simplified their eligibility for the Medicaid program for children. That, alone, was responsible for providing 1 million uninsured children with coverage in 2008, decreasing the number from 6.9 million to 5.9 million by 2010.
Industry experts have stated that the federal healthcare reform, the Affordable Care Act – which requires states to keep eligibility levels based on income and which minimizes several other obstacles for gaining coverage – has been a crucial part in the improvement of these figures.
In total, there were 34 states that saw a notable decrease in the number of children who did not have health insurance coverage. The most significant amount of progress was made in Florida, where the numbers fell to 506,934, from having been 667,758, within that same two year span.
On the other hand, Wisconsin, Kansas, and Minnesota all saw higher numbers of children who were not covered. The report’s data showed that it is Nevada that has the most children without health insurance, while Massachusetts is on the opposite end of the spectrum, with the lowest.
The research was conducted by the Center for Children and Families at the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, and analyzed the new data about health insurance that was obtained by the Census Bureau.
For more information and rates on children’s health insurance