government
Medicaid and CHIP enrolled more uninsured children in 2009
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Aug. 29, 2011
About 340,000 of the 4.7 million uninsured children -- nearly 8% -- who were eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program enrolled in these programs in 2009, according to a report released Aug. 16 by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The report found that Medicaid and CHIP participation grew in 30 states in 2009, increasing the national participation rate to 85%, up from 82%. This increase happened despite a 2.5 million increase in the number of uninsured-but-eligible children between 2008 and 2009.
Medicaid and CHIP participation rates were above 90% in the District of Columbia and 15 states: Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont and West Virginia.
However, six states had participation rates below 80%: Florida, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Texas and Utah. Nearly 40% of the remaining 4.3 million uninsured-but-eligible children live in California, Florida and Texas.
The report is available online (link).
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/08/29/gvbf0829.htm.