COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio is doing better than many other states for ensuring that its children have health care coverage but new research suggests that progress has stalled.
Nearly 16,000 Ohio children gained insurance coverage between 2011 and last year, ranking the state seventh in the nation for change, according to the Georgetown Center for Children and Families.
Children in families living just above the poverty line are the most likely to be uninsured and those are the ones who would benefit most from a federal program that helps states provide coverage for poor families.
“Those children are really targeted by the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Congress has an important decision next year as to whether or not to extend funding for the CHIP program,” the center’s executive director, Joan Alker, said.
The second open enrollment period for the health insurance marketplace set up through federal healthcare reform known as Obamacare starts Saturday and the government says more than 1.5 million people remain uninsured in Ohio.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says 7.3 million people have signed up for marketplace plans and paid their premiums since the program experienced its rocky startup last year.