Introduction
In recent years, much attention has been paid to the growing number of Americans who lack health insurance. Unfortunately, less attention has been paid to a startling and often-overlooked fact: One out of every five uninsured Americans is a child. Through no fault of their own, these youngest and most vulnerable members of society lack coverage for the health services they need to develop into healthy, productive adults. And despite the common misconception that these children somehow manage to get the care they need even though they are uninsured, the truth is that uninsured children fare far worse than their insured counterparts when it comes to a host of crucial medical services, including doctor visits, dental care, vision care, and prescription drugs.
Over the past 10 years, the advent of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and the increased push for children’s coverage that the new program created have led to marked declines in the number of uninsured children. Nevertheless, a great deal of work remains to be done. The most recent Census data show that, for the first time since 1998, the rate of uninsured children increased, from 10.8 percent to 11.2 percent. One in nine children is uninsured, and more than half of all uninsured children live in two-parent families.
Gone are the days when working parents could rely on employer-based health insurance to cover the whole family. Today, low-income parents often do not have access to a health plan at work, or their employer’s plan may be unaffordable. Fortunately, a large proportion of uninsured children are eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP, although better outreach is needed to get them enrolled.
This report takes a closer look at uninsured children—who they are and what kinds of services they miss out on as a result of being uninsured. It is based on data projections from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the Current Population Survey (CPS) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau (2004-2006), as well as the 2005 National Health Interview Survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. See the Technical Appendix on page 19 of the report for a more detailed methodology.
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