Number of Uninsured Children in the U.S. Rises After Years of Decline

“little Zach” by scott1346 licensed under CC BY 2.0

Source: NPR

Though the number of uninsured children in the U.S. has been slowly declining over the years, a new report says that in 2017 there was a sudden increase by more than 270,000 children who were uninsured across the country.

NPR reports that although the percentage increase is not major, the number “are still striking,” since the numbers usually drop.

According to the report by researchers at Georgetown University, the biggest reason for the spike in uninsured children is legislation that has made enrollment difficult. The states that were most affected were South Dakota, whose percentage of uninsured minors went from 4.7 to 6.2 and Utah, up from 6 percent to 7.3. Texas, however, has the largest number of uninsured children overall, with more than 835,000 children who are not covered. In many cases too, families with undocumented children are afraid of having their children taken away from them, say researchers, which leaves thousands without quality care when they don’t enroll in a plan.

Read Full Story: NPR

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