Bad news for Utah kids: Number of uninsured children increases

Some 15 percent of children in Utah were uninsured in 2006 — a one-year increase of nearly 3 percent, according to a new census release.

The U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey shows the drop in insured children was largely due to a decline of 23,000 children on government sponsored health-insurance plans, including the State Children's Health Insurance Program for needy children.

However, some health-care advocates see hope in the Legislature's boost to CHIP funding earlier this year, and plans are emerging on the state and federal levels which are aimed at boosting coverage.

Nationally, the number of uninsured children rose by one million from 2004 to 2006, says Leighton Ku, senior fellow for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington policy group that advocates for low- and moderate-income families.

"It's distressing because we were making significant progress in prior years because of CHIP and Medicaid," he says. "The progress has stalled over the last two years, but employer coverage has continued to fall, so we saw a net increase in the number of uninsured children, which is a shame."

In Utah, the number of children who are covered by some sort of health insurance has actually increased — from 668,000 to 681,000 — even though the percentage of children who are covered has declined.

However, it is the percentage, not the overall number, that is the most telling says Karen Crompton, executive director of Voices for Utah Children.

"Percentages show if you're making progress or slipping back on a goal," she says. "The important thing is that kids are losing ground."

The new census survey shows that the percentage of children covered by private insurance has actually increased slightly, but that increase was offset by a drop in children receiving publicly funded insurance, including Medicaid and CHIP. Last September, the state closed enrollment for CHIP, which serves children living at less than 200 percent of poverty; enrollment reopened in July.

The percent of all Utahns, adults and children who are covered by insurance has slipped by a little less than one percent — "clearly still going in the wrong direction," says Judi Hilman, executive director of the Utah Health Policy Project, but at least the percent increase has slowed down, she notes. Between 2004 and 2005, the number of uninsured in Utah rose 2.3 percent and represented the fourth-highest increase in the nation.

Utah's rise in the percentage of uninsured children and adults has occurred despite Utah's robust economy and low unemployment, conditions that usually lead to a drop in the percentage of uninsured, says Dr. Joseph Jarvis, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Utah Health Policy Project.