Children’s health coverage trends: gains in 2020-2022 reverse previous coverage losses
Children’s health coverage trends: gains in 2020-2022 reverse previous coverage losses
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- ASPE issue brief
- Author(s):
- Conmy, Ann B., author
Peters, Christie Provost, author
De Lew, Nancy, author
Sommers, Benjamin D., author - Contributor(s):
- United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. Office of Health Policy, issuing body.
- Publication:
- Washington, D.C. : Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Office of Health Policy, March 2, 2023
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Adolescent
Child
Health Services Accessibility -- trends
Insurance Coverage -- trends
Medically Uninsured -- statistics & numerical data
United States - Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Recent national survey data show that the uninsured rate among children (ages 0-17) fell from 6.4 percent in late 2020 to 4.5 percent in the third quarter of 2022. These gains have nearly erased the loss in children’s coverage that occurred between 2016 and 2020. By income, coverage gains were greatest among children living in households with incomes between 100 and 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). Federal policies such as the Medicaid continuous enrollment provision in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), expanded Marketplace premium tax credits under the American Rescue Plan (ARP), an extended Marketplace special enrollment period (SEP) in 2021, and robust enrollment outreach have potentially contributed to families and children gaining and retaining health coverage since 2020. While there has been growing health care coverage for children, there has also been a general decline in utilization of services, especially pediatric preventive services, during the pandemic. There are growing income and race-related disparities in use of preventive care services among children, suggesting the pandemic may have had a greater impact on children in lower income households and Black, Latino, and Asian children. Older children (age 12-17) received the lowest rates of preventive care. Preventive care in this age group typically includes depression and suicide risk screenings, so this decline is particularly concerning given rising burdens of mental illness and suicide attempts among adolescents. A new provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (CAA), requires 12-month continuous eligibility for all children enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP, which may improve access to preventive and other types of care. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) extended enhanced premium subsidies for Marketplace coverage, resulting in record-high enrollment in 2023. The elimination of the “family glitch” for Marketplace subsidies will improve affordability of coverage for many families with children. Under the CAA, the Medicaid continuous enrollment provision will come to an end on March 31, 2023. Many children who lose Medicaid coverage as eligibility redeterminations resume may be eligible for CHIP, zero-premium or low-premium plans through the Marketplace, or employer sponsored coverage.
- Copyright:
- The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (23 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918627786306676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918627786306676