Left Behind:
America's Uninsured Children
A Report from Families USA, November 2008
Introduction l Full Report (pdf)) l State Reports l Press Release
KEY FINDINGS
8.6 Million Children Are Uninsured
- One in nine American children (11.1 percent) is uninsured.
- The five states with the largest number of uninsured children are Texas, California, Florida, New York, and Georgia. Together, the uninsured children in these five states account for nearly half of all uninsured children in the country (48.3 percent).
- The five states with the highest rates of uninsured children are Texas, Florida, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada. More than 15 percent of children in each of these states are uninsured, compared to a national median of 9.2 percent.
Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Are Picking up the Slack
- Between 2006 and 2007, the number of uninsured children declined by 521,000.
- The number of children covered by private health coverage declined by 65,000.
- The number of children covered in Medicaid and CHIP increased by 954,000.
Uninsured Children Come from Working Families
- The majority of uninsured children (88.2 percent) come from families where at least one parent works.
- More than two-thirds of uninsured children (68.5 percent) live in households where at least one family member works full-time, year-round.
- Still, 60.4 percent of uninsured children come from low-income families (families with incomes at or below twice the poverty level—$35,200 for a family of three in 2008).
Most Uninsured Children Come from Two-Parent Households
- Among uninsured children living with a parent, more than half—58.8 percent—live in two-parent households.
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