Child Health USA 2002

STATE-SPECIFIC DATA

STATE DATA

While the indicators presented in the previous sections of this book are representative of the U.S. as a whole, the next section presents state-level health status indicators, data on infant, neonatal, and perinatal mortality, low birth weight, early prenatal care, births to women under 18, health care financing for children, Medicaid enrollment and expenditures, and CHIP enrollment.

The following pages reveal stark disparities in the health status of children living in different states. Women living in the District of Columbia, Louisiana, and Mississippi were more likely to give birth to low birth weight babies (less than 2,500 grams or 5.5 pounds) than women in other regions of the country. These same states along with Alabama, Arkansas, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Texas also had the highest rates of births to women under 18 years of age.

Poverty in the U.S. had continued to rise steadily during the last three decades. Title XIX of the Social Security Act (Medicaid) and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) helps to assure that children living in low-income families receive adequate health care services. In 2000, Vermont had the greatest proportion of children with Medicaid/CHIP coverage (37 percent), while Virginia had the smallest proportion (8.7 percent). The national average was 20.6 percent. Texas led the states with the highest proportion of uninsured children at 21.5 percent. Poverty affects living conditions and access to health care and nutrition, all of which contribute to health status.

The challenge to health care providers and policy-makers continues to be eliminating the disparities among states while improving the health status of children throughout the entire nation.