The State of Kids' Coverage

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation commissioned analyses of data on uninsured children by the Minnesota-based State Health Access Data Assistance Center. The report uses data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics 2003 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) and the U.S. Census Bureau's 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2005 Current Population Survey (CPS).

There are three areas of analysis:

• Effect State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) on the number of Uninsured children, publicly insured children, and privately insured children in the U.S. and by state in 2003-2004, using data from the CPS. These data are compared to the number of uninsured children, publicly insured children and privately insured children in the U.S. and by state in 1997-1998. This comparison provides an opportunity to document coverage patterns before and after the implementation of the SCHIP
   
• Relationship of race and ethnicity to number of uninsured children in the U.S. in 2003-2004
   
• Health consequences of being without health insurance for all or part of a year

The key findings include:

• The number of uninsured children has declined by three percent between 1997 and 2004
   
• The number of children covered by private insurance has decreased by 3.5% between 1997 and 2004
   
• The number of children with public insurance (SCHIP) has increased by 6.4% between 1997-2004
   
• Non-white children (African-American 13.4%; Hispanic 21%) have a higher uninsured rate than white children (7.5%)
   
• 25.6% of children who are uninsured for all or part of a year receive no medical care. Only 12.3% of insured children receive no medical care