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A new brief by Kenney, Anderson, and Lynch assesses Medicaid/CHIP participation rates and the number of uninsured children who are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP using the most recent data available from the American Community Survey. Some of the major findings: Between 2008 and 2011, Medicaid/CHIP participation rates rose 5.5 percentage points among children, reaching 87.2 percent in 2011. Considerable variation in state coverage rates, however, was observed: twenty states (including the District of Columbia) had participation rates at or above 90 percent but four states had rates below 80 percent. Study results suggest that increased state and federal policy efforts to reduce the number of Medicaid/CHIP eligible but uninsured children have yielded results but opportunity exists for further progress by increasing participation in the lower-performing states. Despite potential for more progress, given that CHIP is only reauthorized until October 1, 2015, the authors caution there is some uncertainty in future rates of coverage for low-income children.
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