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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

Childrens’ Health Insurance Coverage

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  • Utah second worst at enrolling kids in Medicaid, CHIP, By Kirsten Stewart, September 4, 2010, Salt Lake Tribune: “Utah has the country’s second-lowest participation rate in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, a persistent problem propelling the state’s uninsured rate, a new report shows. An estimated 7 million children in America were uninsured on any given day in 2008, and nearly 5 million of those were eligible for government-funded, low-income health insurance programs, according to a report by the Urban Institute. Published Friday in the online journal HealthAffairs, the report uses Census data from the 2008 American Community Survey to estimate rates of participation by children in each state, as well as how many children were eligible but not enrolled. The report doesn’t reflect recent efforts to remedy the problem, nor the large increase in enrollment during the economic recession, said Kolbi Young, a spokeswoman at the Utah Department of Health…”
  • Push to enroll uninsured kids in health coverage under way in California, By Bobby Caina Calvan, September 5, 2010, Sacramento Bee: “Despite eligibility for Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, 700,000 children in California remain uninsured, and a push is under way to get them enrolled in government health insurance programs. Dwindling money for outreach and enrollment-assistance programs, coupled with uncertainty over the future of government health programs, may have sowed confusion among many California families, children’s advocates say…”
  • New Jersey’s health insurance programs for poor children still are not reaching all the kids who need it, By Lindy Washburn, September 4, 2010, Herald News: “New Jersey’s health insurance programs for poor children still are not reaching all the kids who ought to benefit, a new analysis shows, and 150,000 children under age 18 in the state remain uninsured. More than two-thirds of the state’s uninsured children have at least one parent who is employed full time. The majority are U.S. citizens whose parents are also U.S. citizens. The largest demographic group is Hispanic (59,000), followed by white (46,000) and African-American (30,000). They are more likely to be boys and over 13 years old…”
  • Programs help children get health insurance, By Yvonne Wenger, September 4, 2010, The State: “More than 160,000 children living in South Carolina qualify for government health insurance that is free for their parents, but the kids aren’t signed up for the coverage. Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, on Friday challenged South Carolina and other states to find and enroll within five years an estimated 5 million children nationwide who are eligible for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, commonly known as CHIP, or Medicaid…”