Building on prior studies examining uninsurance and Medicaid/CHIP participation among children and parents, we found that 4.3 percent of children and 11.0 percent of parents were uninsured in 2016, declining from 7.0 percent and 17.6 percent, respectively, in 2013—a nearly 40 percent drop for both groups. However, reductions in uninsurance were smaller in 2016 than in 2014-2015 for both children and parents, and as in prior years, parents were over 2.5 times more likely to be uninsured than children. Over half of the remaining uninsured children nationally were eligible for Medicaid/CHIP, more than twice as many as among parents. Among eligible uninsured parents, two-thirds had a child enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP.

This brief was updated on September 28, 2018. The title of figure 5 omitted “CHIP” in describing the eligibility of uninsured children and parents. The title now includes “CHIP.” The data were not affected.