SHADAC released its 2016 annual report on children's health insurance coverage today. The report uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) to compare coverage between 2013 and 2014 and examine five-year coverage trends (2010-2014) both nationwide and at the state level for all 50 states and DC. Full implementation of the ACA’s coverage provisions took place in 2014, making the 2014 ACS data the first 50-state view of kids coverage under full implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
There are Multiple Encouraging Trends in Coverage
There are a number of encouraging trends that emerge from the data:
- Overall, uninsurance among children decreased from 7.5% to 6.3% between 2013 and 2014, the largest year-over-year decrease in uninsurance at the national level since the ACS added the health insurance question in 2008.
- Between 2013 and 2014, 23 states saw a significant decrease in children’s uninsurance and no state saw a significant increase. Nevada had the highest percentage point drop in state-level uninsured rate, while California saw the largest decline in the number of uninsured children.
- Children’s uninsurance decreased across all income categories between 2013 and 2014, and the largest percentage point drop was among low-income children. This drop was driven by an increase in the public coverage rate and a flat private coverage rate for this group.
- From 2010 to 2014, children’s uninsurance dropped across Hispanic, Non-white, and White racial/ethnic populations. The largest single-year percentage-point drop for all three subgroups came between 2013 and 2014.
But...5 Million Children Remain Uninsured
Despite large overall declines in uninsurance among children, about 5 million children still remain uninsured in 2014. Almost half of these children reside in only six states: Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, Arizona, and New York. Although Hispanic children had the largest percentage point decrease among racial/ethnic populations, uninsurance for this group remains nearly double that of both Non-white and White children.
The pronounced drop in uninsurance at the national level between 2013 and 2014 is likely attributable to the ACA as its historic coverage provisions were implemented in 2014. However, the continued variation of uninsurance rates across subgroups and within and across states indicated that opportunities to expand coverage remain.
More Information
The full report, along with state-level summary tables and state-specific fact sheet two pagers, is available here.