The State of Children’s Health report by Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children shows that the number of uninsured children in the state decreased during the pandemic from 4.6% to 4.4%.
However, much of that decrease was due to the federal continuous coverage provision that prevents states from disenrolling children and families from Medicaid during the public health emergency. Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children is urging the state to take action to prevent children from losing coverage when federal protection ends.
During that same time frame, the rate of uninsured children in McKean County improved, while it got worse for Elk, Potter and Cameron counties.
While specific numbers were not given for those years, the report listed the 2022 data for McKean County, and indicated the same percentages for Elk, Potter and Cameron counties as well.
In McKean County in 2022, there were 11,107 children under the age of 21, 6% of whom were uninsured. Four percent of children under the age of 6 were without health insurance, while 7% of children ages 6 to 18 were.
For the McKean County children who were insured, 43% were covered by employer sponsored insurance, 29% by CHIP or Medicaid, 16% had two or more types of coverage, 4% were covered by direct purchased insurance, and 2% were covered by other public insurance. Five percent of the county’s children are financially eligible for Medicaid but are uninsured.
The report found Medicaid is an essential source of coverage for Pennsylvania children with disabilities, living in low-income families, and those living in and aging out of foster care. It became even more so during the pandemic when child enrollment increased by 20%. More than 1.4 million Pennsylvania children currently have Medicaid as their health insurance.
“We are cautiously optimistic about the improvement in our child uninsured rate in Pennsylvania,” said Kari King, president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children. “While we have made progress, the number of uninsured children in the state totals the populations of Harrisburg and Scranton combined. And hundreds of thousands of children are at risk of losing Medicaid coverage when the public health emergency ends and the state begins to unwind the disenrollment freeze and resume pre-pandemic operations.”
Pennsylvania has the 8th highest number of uninsured children in the nation, with 126,000 children who do not have health insurance and don’t have regular access to preventive and primary health care. According to the latest estimates from the Department of Human Services, 1 in 4 children enrolled in Medicaid could lose coverage when the public health emergency ends and the process to redetermine eligibility begins.
“It will be imperative for DHS to implement an unwinding process that does not disconnect the children most at risk of losing coverage, particularly when Pennsylvania’s uninsured rate is starting to improve,” King said.
The report recommends the Department of Human Services do the following: Reaffirm its commitment to using a 12-month unwinding period as recommended by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, which most other states plan to use. Using the full 12 months permitted will give Pennsylvania the best chance to minimize inappropriate terminations and disruptions in coverage (churn) that often impact children more than the adult population; and immediately expand the 12-month continuous eligibility policy to children ages 4 through 21 in Medicaid when the public health emergency ends to make it more equitable — Pennsylvania already provides 12-month continuous eligibility (regardless of changes in circumstances) in Medicaid for children up to age 4. All Pennsylvania children in CHIP have continuous eligibility for a full year.
