facts and nonpartisan perspectives on the issues

IN THIS ISSUE

Children's Health Insurance

Though their plans vary widely, all three major presidential candidates have discussed improving health coverage for children. Whether they're calling for flexibility in how states spend public dollars or for substantially expanding state and federal programs, the presidential contenders are addressing an issue that recently has been a priority in Congress and in state houses. The Urban Institute offers facts and nonpartisan perspectives for columnists and reporters covering the debate over children's health insurance.

KEY FACTS

• The most recent estimates from the Census Bureau indicate that 9.4 million children age 18 and under are uninsured.
• Following the 1997 enactment of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (or SCHIP)—a joint state and federal health insurance program for children in families with incomes too high for Medicaid but too low to afford insurance on their own—the share of low-income children lacking health insurance declined by a third.
• Approximately 70 percent of all uninsured children are eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP coverage but not enrolled.
• Most low-income parents (84 percent) say they would enroll their child in SCHIP if told their child was eligible.
• In 2007, President Bush and Congress failed to agree on legislation that would have expanded SCHIP. Instead, an 18-month extension was signed, continuing the program through March 2009.
• Most uninsured children lack access to affordable private coverage. Few uninsured children (11 percent) have parents covered by employer-sponsored insurance.
• Compared to children with insurance, uninsured children are twice as likely to have an unmet need for medical treatment, dental care, or prescription drugs or to have received that care late.

Additional analysis is available in UI reports:

• Coverage Patterns among SCHIP-Eligible Children and Their Parents Genevieve Kenney and Allison Cook
• Can the President’s Health Care Tax Proposal Serve as an Effective Substitute for SCHIP Expansion? Linda Blumberg
• What Happened to Health Insurance Coverage of Children and Adults in 2006? John Holahan and Allison Cook

Decision Points '08 is published weekly by the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan social and economic research organization.
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