Children's Health
The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is a federally funded program administered by the states that provides health coverage for American children in working families. States design their own CHIP programs and determine policies and eligibility requirements within broad federal guidelines. In 2006, CHIP provided health coverage for 6.6 million children.
Medicaid and CHIP work together to provide health coverage for children in low- and middle-income families. Still, many children do not have health coverage. Currently, more than 9 million American children are uninsured. (Medicaid and CHIP go by different names in different states. Click here for a list of program names.)
This section of our Web site offers up-to-date information on children’s health legislation, including the reauthorization of CHIP, and other topics related to children’s health.
The Latest
From Families USA:
Still Too Many Uninsured Children examines the new Census Bureau data about children's health coverage in 2007. It describes the importance of Medicaid and CHIP for children's health coverage, how the President's harmful policies are hurting children, and what Congress and the next President should do to help. (August 2008)
Detour on the Road to Kids Coverage: Administration Creates Roadblocks, So States Seek Alternative Routes examines the current state of children's coverage and finds that, while the Administration's new directive has created roadblocks that stymied state efforts to expand eligibility, it has not stopped states from making progress. (July 2008)
From the Center for Studying Health System Change:
Community Efforts to Expand Dental Services for Low-Income People examines the key barriers to dental services. These include low rates of dental coverage, limited dental benefits available through public insurance programs, and a lack of dentists willing to serve low-income patients. The report notes that state Medicaid and CHIP policies play a significant role in access to dental services at the community level. (July 2008)
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:
Facing Deficits, Many States Are Imposing Cuts That Hurt Vulnerable Residents highlights the areas that states are targeting for cuts due to budget constraints. At least 13 states have implemented or are considering cuts that will affect low-income children’s or families’ eligibility for health insurance or that will reduce their access to health care services. (July 2008)
From Health Affairs:
Public and Private Health Insurance: Stacking up the Costs examines different ways of providing health insurance to families with incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The brief finds that total medical spending is much lower when coverage is provided through Medicaid or CHIP than it is when coverage is provided by private insurance because out-of-pocket spending is much lower. (June 2008)
From the National Council of La Raza:
A Burden No Child Should Bear: How the Health Coverage System Is Failing Latino Children highlights Latino children’s access to common forms of coverage and the different factors that may affect their ability to obtain insurance and care. Disparities in health coverage put Latino children at a disadvantage from a young age, and the effects of these disparities can persist throughout their lives. (July 2008)
From the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation:
A Needed Lifeline: Chronically Ill Children and Public Health Insurance Coverage provides a state-by-state analysis of children’s access to health care and examines whether children who have public or private coverage obtain health care differently than children who are uninsured. The data demonstrate the strength of CHIP and Medicaid as safety nets for kids, but more than 9 million children remain uninsured. (August 2008)
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