Researchers attribute the growing trend to job losses, coverage changes to private health insurance plans and expanded access to public plans. The trend is particularly pronounced within rural and inner-city areas, which traditionally have had lower coverage rates than suburban areas.
The key findings of this research show:
• Health insurance coverage among children increased 1.3 percent from 2008-2009 in the United States, with the most growth in central cities and rural areas.
• The Northeast continues to have the highest rate of coverage, with more than 95 percent of children covered. The South has the lowest coverage rates, at 89 percent.
• Forty-four states had a significant increase in the number of children covered by public health insurance.
• Twenty-seven states saw a decrease in private health insurance coverage for children.
• Children in Midwestern central cities experienced the largest shift from private to public insurers in 2009; private insurance coverage fell 4.3 percent, while public coverage rose by 6.5 percent.
Read the news release about public healthcare coverage for children.
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