Why Do These Children Lack Health Insurance?

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Why Do Children Lack Health Insurance?

Another important issue of concern in understanding the uninsured population is the reasons behind their lack of coverage. Health services research indicates that the family income of a significant number of uninsured children exceeds Medicaid income limits, but falls short of that needed to purchase private coverage. The remaining uninsured children may fall into the following two categories:

Children of workers who have employer-sponsored coverage available to them but who do not take it, potentially due to premium contributions required of low-wage employees by their employer.

Percentage of All Workers Offered Employment-Related Coverage
[IMAGE: Private Insurance: Offer Rates (gif 4.5 K)]

Percentage of Workers Offered Insurance Who Are Policyholders
[IMAGE: Private Insurance: Take-Up Rates (gif 4.4 K)]

Children who are eligible for Medicaid. The health insurance status of children who are eligible for Medicaid is varied:
- 52 percent are actually enrolled in the Medicaid program.
- 26 percent of Medicaid-eligible children are enrolled in private insurance programs.
- The remaining 22 percent of Medicaid-eligible children are uninsured.

Insurance Coverage of Children Eligible for Medicaid
[IMAGE: Insurance Coverage of Children Eligible for Medicaid (gif 4.4 K)]

Percent of Children Who Are Enrolled in Medicaid
[IMAGE: Medicaid Take-Up Rates Among Eligible Children (gif 5.2 K)]

Related Questions

What led to this?

Why Do I Care About Target Population?

What other issues are talked about in this section?

Show Me the National Profile - Population Size and Characteristics of Uninsured Children

Who presented this material?

Robin Weinick, Ph.D.

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