Medicaid and indigent care issue brief: state response to children's health insurance programs.

According to recent Census Bureau data, approximately 11.1 million children (people less than 18 years of age) were uninsured in 1998. Many of these children are in families with working parents who either do not receive health care coverage through their employers or cannot afford coverage through private sources. Uninsured children are less likely to visit a physician routinely, get care for injuries or have a regular source of health care. This link between health insurance and access to health care makes the increasing number of uninsured children a serious problem not only for children, but for society as a whole. Most states intend to subsidize children's health insurance with federal funding provided by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. The Balanced Budget Act provides enhanced federal funding to states that create plans to provide coverage to targeted children from low-income families. Uninsured children already were high on state agendas before passage of this law, but now, with new federal funds, many states are taking action to cover their most vulnerable citizens.