The number of uninsured children in the state and nation has dropped since the
Affordable Care Act, according to the February 10, 2016 Orange County Register (full story follows). Medi-Cal is a key component of this improvement in California.
The number of
uninsured children in California dropped by 2.2 percent in the year the
Affordable Care Act took effect, according to a report released Wednesday by
the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
In 2014, 5.7 percent of California
children, or 550,000, lacked insurance coverage. The year before, 7.9 percent,
or 760,000, were uncovered.
The health law requires most Americans to have
insurance or pay a penalty. The 2016 fine for an uninsured child is $347.50.
Among children with insurance in 2014, 55.6 percent had private insurance and
38.7 percent had public insurance. Latino children were more likely to be
uninsured (7.3 percent) than white children (4 percent).
Nationwide, the
uninsured rate among children went from 7.5 percent in 2013 to 6.3 percent in
2014.
The report was prepared with Census Bureau data. The decrease in
uninsured children nationally was the largest decline since the Census began
asking about coverage in 2008.
“This report provides an important baseline for
measuring kids’ coverage under the ACA across states,” Lynn Blewett, director
of the University of Minnesota’s State Health Access Data Assistance Center,
which compiled the report, said in a statement. “It’s likely the case that more
children gained coverage as eligible parents signed up for free or low-cost
health insurance, and we’re likely to see that trend continue.”
