Number of uninsured children increases for first time in a decade

The number of uninsured children in the U.S. increased for the first time in a decade, according to a new report that puts much of the blame on policies spearheaded by Republicans.

An estimated 3.9 million children did not have health insurance in 2017, an increase of 276,000 compared to the previous year, according to the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families.

{mosads}No state made statistically significant progress on children’s coverage last year, despite an improving economy and low unemployment rate, according to the report, which noted that the District of Columbia made substantive gains in 2017.

Researchers said the rising number for states was due to a variety of factors, though they said GOP-led states refusing to expand Medicaid played a major role, as well as Republican efforts in Congress to repeal ObamaCare and cap federal Medicaid funding.

Three-quarters of the children who lost coverage between 2016 and 2017 live in states that have not expanded Medicaid coverage to parents and other low-income adults, the report found. The uninsured rates for children in non-expansion states increased at almost triple the rate as states that have expanded Medicaid.

The report also noted that Congress eliminated the health law’s individual mandate and the Trump administration dramatically cut ObamaCare outreach and enrollment grants while shortening the open enrollment period.

“All of these changes in the national political and policy realm mark a sharp reversal after many years of successful efforts to reduce the uninsured rate for children and families,” the researchers wrote.

The report’s prognosis for the future was not encouraging.

“Barring new and serious efforts to get back on track, there is every reason to believe the decline in coverage is likely to continue and may get worse in 2018,” researchers concluded.

The number of uninsured children in the U.S. was particularly high in Florida and Texas, the two largest states that have not expanded Medicaid, according to the report.

Texas had an estimated 80,000 more children uninsured in 2017 than in 2016, and Florida had 37,000 more.

Researchers also pointed to President Trump’s recent crackdown on immigration as a reason why the number of uninsured kids is rising.

One quarter of all children under 18 living in the United States have a parent who is an immigrant, according to the report. Several policies targeting immigrant communities, like the administration’s “public charge” proposal, are likely deterring parents from enrolling their eligible children in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, despite the fact that most of these children are U.S. citizens.