HEALTH CARE FINANCING
A report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute
(EBRI) indicated that 11.6 percent (8.4 million) children
younger than 18 years of age had no insurance coverage
in 2000, a decrease of 16.5 percent since 1999. Decreasing
rates of uninsurance among children have been attributed
to small gains in coverage through Medicaid and CHIP
and employment-based insurance as well as a strong
economy and low unemployment.
In 2000, nearly one quarter of all children (23.3
percent) were publicly insured, primarily through
Medicaid, and 70.6 percent were covered by private
insurance. By comparison, children living in families
with income below the federal poverty more likely
to have public insurance (59.6 percent) and be uninsured
(22.3 percent).* Far fewer low-income children had
private coverage (24.5 percent). Also, individuals
in single parent families were more likely to be uninsured
than those in families composed of married couples
with children (19.0 percent versus 11.4 percent respectively).
Most privately insured children (89.5 percent) received
insurance through their parents' employer; however,
even when parents are employed, coverage may not be
offered or may be prohibitively expensive. Nearly
86 percent of uninsured children lived in families
that had at least one parent who worked part-time
or full-time, for all or part of the year.
Created in response to the growing number of uninsured
children in low-income working families, the
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrolled
4.6 million children by the end of Federal Fiscal
Year 2001. As of 2001, in 36 states and the District
of Columbia, children with family income at or above
200 percent of the federal poverty level qualify for
coverage.
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