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Nearly 7 million children are estimated to be at risk of going uninsured from next year, when pandemic-era coverage ends, according to the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University.
Ohio saw a slight spike in the number of youngest residents without health insurance during the pandemic, but the number of uninsured children nationwide fell by 5%, according to a new report. .
Kelly Vyzral, senior health policy associate at Children’s Defense Fund Ohio, explained that in 2019, the number of uninsured children in Ohio ballooned to rates not seen in decades. . She said the group worked to improve Medicaid outreach and enrollment when the pandemic hit. She pointed out that states could do more to improve outcomes by enacting what is known as “continuous eligibility” for children up to age six.
“Parents don’t have to worry about their child being uninsured, so early and all-important health checks, developmental screenings and immunizations are all more likely,” Vyzral said. said.
Ohio, along with the District of Columbia, is one of 17 states that do not have ongoing eligibility for Medicaid or CHIP eligible children. Vyzral says more than 100,000 families have received uninterrupted health care for three years as a result of insured government emergency protection, while more Ohio children are out of coverage. I pointed out that
Vyzral added that Medicaid, especially raising income standards for pregnant women, could give more families a healthy start.
“Being able to do that is going to help all working families who may not currently be eligible for Medicaid but can’t afford insurance on the private market,” Vyzral said.
Joanne Alker, executive director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University and co-author of the report, said pandemic-era policies make children from lower-income families more likely to have health insurance. I’m here.
“Working households with annual incomes of about $30,000 to $55,000 have seen a significant drop in uninsured rates,” Alker said. “And I think that speaks to the many truly essential workers who faced challenges early in the pandemic.”
She added that while families continue to struggle to make ends meet amid high inflation, children continue to face health threats from respiratory syncytial virus, flu and COVID.
