COLUMBUS – Democratic lawmakers at the Statehouse say new research should spark greater efforts to provide health insurance for Ohio’s children.
A Georgetown University report released Wednesday shows that Ohio has the sixth highest number of uninsured children in the U.S. The data from university’s Center for Children and Families showed the number of uninsured Ohio children increased 27.9 percent from 2016 to last year to 133,000, many of them under six years of age.
“So, we’re talking here about babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers who are in and out of the doctor all the time for immunizations, for checkups, having their development checked, critical years for child development,” Joan Alker, the center’s executive director said.
Hear the “Perspective” interview with Joan Alker here
Alker says long-term health problems can often be headed off with proper care during early childhood, saving money that would otherwise be spent treating chronic conditions when the children grow to adulthood.
Ohio also had one of the highest increases in the rate of uninsured children, growing by 1 percent to 4.8 percent during the two-year period, according to the report.
“Our children deserve better, and this should be a wake-up call to the Governor and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to address these declines in insurance coverage with the urgency this issue requires,” Rep. Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) said.
In July, Russo and other House Democrats sent a letter to the Ohio Department of Medicaid asking them to investigate the declining number of children enrolled in Medicaid.
The report showed that the increases both began despite Ohio’s Medicaid expansion in 2013, Alker said.
The report revealed that federal efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, cuts to Medicaid and delayed funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program all contributed to the decline in the number of insured children in the nation after years of increases.
Loss of coverage is most pronounced for white children and Latino children and children in low- and moderate-income families whose parents earn between $29,000 to $53,000 a year, often because the parents do not realize they are eligible for programs like Medicaid and CHIP, Alker said.
Alker said the report suggests that lawmakers and other leaders should create new policies that make it easier for families to sign up for those programs.