There are more than 8 million uninsured children in America—that's one in ten. Every 42 seconds, a child is born uninsured. More than 2,000 children are born uninsured every day. CDF works hard to build support for children’s health and has been instrumental in passing legislation to expand access to comprehensive and affordable health coverage for children, including the landmark health reform bill passed in 2010 that now provides access to health coverage for more than 95 percent of all children. Unfortunately, in most states eligibility for coverage does not automatically translate into enrollment in coverage. About two-thirds of the more than 8 million uninsured children are currently eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), but are not enrolled due in large part to bureaucratic barriers. Getting eligible children enrolled remains a challenge and CDF will continue to work hard to ensure every child has the healthy start they need to survive and thrive in life.

A-C-A for You and Me!

Last month we celebrated the 2nd Anniversary of the landmark health reform legislation! Although not yet fully implemented, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has already made record gains in children’s health coverage and millions of children have benefited. Thanks to the ACA, today, insurers can no longer take away coverage when a child becomes sick, refuse to cover children with pre-existing conditions, or put lifetime caps on coverage. Two and a half million more young adults through age 26 have gained health coverage through their parent’s health insurance. Families are no longer paying a co-pay for their child’s preventive health visits. Medicaid and CHIP have been protected and strengthened, and in the last year another 1.5 million children gained health coverage through the programs, bringing the number of uninsured children in America to an all-time low. And this is only the beginning—in 2014, more children will experience more benefits as we move towards full implementation of the ACA in 2014. Join Atticus and Maeve in singing the A-C-A song to celebrate the important gains, and embrace those to come, to ensure America’s children have the healthy start they need to survive and thrive.

Millions of Young Adults Now Covered

Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, approximately 2.5 million young adults have gained health coverage. The Young Invincibles recently released a new Health Care Toolkit aimed at helping young adults graduating in the spring or already out of school to better understand their options and how the new health law applies to them. Download and share your state’s toolkit and help further the gains already made by covering young people.

New Report from Kaiser Family Foundation on Medicaid and CHIP

The Kaiser Family Foundation, in conjunction with our friends at the Georgetown Center for Children and Families, has released its annual 50-State Survey findings on Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility and Enrollment Policies. The report found that during 2011, 29 states improved coverage for children and families. Twenty-five states did so by simplifying their renewal procedures for children and parents. Additionally, a majority of states are now seizing the opportunity to receive federal funding that will reduce paper work for both state and families by using the latest technology as states gear up for the debut of health insurance exchanges in 2014. Learn more about what your state is doing to improve access to health coverage for children and families!

Medicaid Myths and Facts

Medicaid guarantees 38 million children in America—one in every three—health services that are identified through periodic screenings as medically necessary. Despite it’s proven efficiency and cost effectiveness, the program continues to get pummeled by lawmakers during the deficit reduction negotiations. Arm yourself with the facts and stand up for the children it serves with our Medicaid Myths factsheet.

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Good News: Medicaid and CHIP are working!

A new report highlighting the progress states have made in expanding health coverage to children and reducing the number that go uninsured, was released by our friends at the Georgetown Center on Children and Families. In conjunction with briefings on Capitol Hill co-sponsored by CDF and endorsed by 40 children’s health organizations, Joan Alker, Co-Director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families (CCF) brought good news at a time when there are many challenges in Washington: today, with more children living in poverty than ever before, the number of children without health insurance in the United States has dropped by 1 million in the past three years! Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are doing their job! Ms. Alker discussed how states have expanded eligibility for, and simplified access to, the Medicaid program, which provides more than 36 million children with the comprehensive health coverage they need to survive and thrive. One of those children, Carissa Malley, a 15-year-old girl with Downs Syndrome, and her mother Dianne, joined us on Capitol Hill to share their experience with Medicaid. Dianne, once a college professor who has never been without private health coverage for her family, explained how they would be bankrupt if Medicaid had not helped them meet the unexpected high cost of Carissa’s medical care. Carissa’s story and the good news about children’s health coverage highlighted in the report underscore the importance of maintaining and protecting Medicaid and CHIP, especially during such difficult economic times. Learn more about Medicaid with CDF’s Fact Sheet and check-out how your state is faring in the new report from our good friends at CCF.

2011 State-by-State Medicaid Fact Sheets

Want to know more about how Medicaid works for the children in your state? Check out these great state-by-state fact sheets, put together by our friends at the National Association of Children’s Hospitals (N.A.C.H.) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Who are the Uninsured?

Educate yourself and your community about who the uninsured children are and where they live. Download CDF’s most recent profile of America’s uninsured children.

Children’s Health in Your State

How many uninsured children are in your state? How many children are enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP? Find out with our new clickable map on uninsured children on a state-by-state basis.

Bringing Health Coverage to Schools for Student Success

Through a partnership with the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA), CDF-Texas works with school districts across the state, helping them determine which students are uninsured by adding a question to school enrollment forms. CDF-Texas then works with school administrators to follow up with parents of uninsured children to help them connect to coverage.

The National Assembly on School-based Health Care (NASBHC) has partnered with CDF to increase awareness on school-based health centers throughout the month of February that provide coverage in schools. Learn more about NASBHC’s efforts this month and new research that bolsters the link between student performance and access to care.

FRAC Survey Shows Households With Children Struggle to Afford Food

The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) recently released findings from a survey which paint a clear portrait of the struggle faced by many families to afford food for their children. The survey found that in 2009, nearly one in four households with children struggled to afford the food they needed.  Nationally, nearly one in five Americans (18.5 percent) has lacked the money to buy the food they needed at some point in the last year.  To read the full report, click here.

Access to nutritious food is a matter of social justice. As CDF President Marian Wright Edelman noted in her recent Child Watch® column Urban Food Deserts Threaten Children’s Health, failing to ensure our children receive better nutrition will cost our nation dearly.   Ensuring children and adults access to nutritious food is one obvious step we must take as legislators struggle to reform our nation's health care system and contain its skyrocketing costs.

For more research on food insecurity in the United States, see the 2008 USDA report Household Food Security in the United States, or The Public Health Effects of Food Deserts Workshop Summary from the National Academy of Sciences.