Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) One Year Later: Connecting Kids to Coverage
Released on the one-year anniversary of the enactment of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA), the federal study reviews how new health care funds and options provided in CHIPRA have affected coverage for children in Medicaid and CHIP.
According to the study, Medicaid and CHIP enrolled a total of nearly 40 million children from 2008 to 2009, including 2.6 million more children than during the prior year. Of the 2.6 million children who gained coverage, enrollment increases were greatest among the lower-income children eligible for Medicaid. In addition, more than half of states adopted improvements, including simplifying enrollment processes and expanding coverage, since CHIPRA was enacted.
However, while the rate of uninsured children is the lowest in more than two decades, an estimated 5 million eligible children remain uninsured. The report concludes that schools, community- and faith-based organizations, health care providers, businesses, families and all levels of government must work to enroll these 5 million eligible yet uninsured children.
The report was released by InsureKidsNow.gov, a program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
