SALT LAKE CITY – After a decade of improvement, the number of children with health insurance is dropping in Utah and across the nation.

A report from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families shows that the number of Utah children without health coverage grew at the second fastest rate in the country in 2017 – an increase of 12,000 children.

Jessie Mandle, a senior health policy analyst for Utah Voices for Children, says the state took a major step on election night toward turning that trend around.

"Utah actually did recently pass a ballot initiative to expand Medicaid,” she points out. “That will have a big impact here in terms of helping more kids get affordable health coverage – and more parents.

“We know that when parents have health coverage, kids are more likely to get covered, as well."

Nationally, according to the report, 276,000 more children were uninsured in 2017 than in 2016.

It also found that about three-quarters of the children who lost coverage are in states that have not expanded Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

The national rate for uninsured children grew from 4.7 percent to 5 percent.

The report's co-author Joan Alker, executive director of the Georgetown Center, says access to health care is one of the most important factors in a child's development.

"Few things matter more than a healthy childhood,” she stresses. “When children's health needs are met, they're better able to learn in school and their parents miss fewer days of work.

“Really, as we think ahead to our nation's future, we need to make sure that we redouble our efforts to continue years of bipartisan progress to reduce the number of uninsured children."

In the report, Alker says that the constant attacks on the ACA, the move to cap Medicaid and the delay in reauthorizing the Children's Health Insurance Program all contributed to unease among the public about signing up.

"There's been a steady effort by the Trump administration to create a climate of intimidation for immigrant families, so a lot of uninsured kids are citizen kids, but they might have a parent who's an immigrant,” she points out. “And those families are increasingly worried about interacting with the government."

Alker says that unless changes are made in Washington, the number of children without health coverage will continue to grow across the country.


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October is National Bullying Prevention Month and a recent study showed teens bullied in high school tend to become pessimistic about life prospects.

The study, published in the Journal of Research on Adolescence found students who experienced relational bullying were more likely to develop depressive symptoms and over time became more pessimistic about both academics and career prospects beyond high school. Relational bullying includes things like starting rumors, being deliberately ignored and exclusion from group activities.

Hannah L. Schacter, assistant professor of psychology at Wayne State University in Detroit, said a student's perception of social inadequacy can spread into other parts of life.

"You're receiving a message from your peers that you are someone who doesn't deserve positive treatment, and that may then generalize to these other life domains," Schacter explained. "Now you expect that you're not going to be able to do well academically, or perhaps you won't be able to achieve what you wanted in terms of your work or kind of life plans."

Maryland requires county boards of education to track and report on bullying. This year's report showed there were more than 7,800 incidences of bullying reported during the 2022-23 school year, an increase of 25% over the year prior.

Researchers found students who experienced overt victimization such as direct verbal or physical attacks did not report lower future expectations. Earlier research showed relational victimization had negative effects on elementary students' academic performance and standardized test scores over time. Schacter argued schools need to see the effects of bullying not just as a challenging social issue but also an educational priority.

"As there's been increased recognition of how it can negatively impact teens, more and more schools have, at the very least, adopted anti bullying policies," Schacter acknowledged. "Unfortunately, it's very time intensive, and can be quite costly to implement evidence based large scale school interventions for bullying."

Maryland's State Department of Education adopted a model policy to address bullying, harassment and intimidation in 2009 and has updated it in the years since. Last year the department began offering an online introduction to bullying prevention for educators.


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October is National Bullying Prevention Month and a new study showed teens bullied in high school tend to become pessimistic about their future.

Researchers found adolescents who experienced relational bullying were more likely to develop depressive symptoms and over time became more pessimistic about academics and career prospects beyond high school. Relational bullying includes things like starting rumors, being deliberately ignored and exclusion from group activities.

Hannah L. Schacter, assistant professor of psychology at Wayne State University in Detroit, said a student's perception of social inadequacy can spread into other parts of life.

"You're receiving a message from your peers that you are someone who doesn't deserve positive treatment, and that may then generalize to these other life domains," Schacter explained. "Now you expect that you're not going to be able to do well academically, or perhaps you won't be able to achieve what you wanted in terms of your work or kind of life plans."

The study began with more than 300 9th graders at 38 different high schools across Michigan. Students completed online surveys multiple times per year over three years.

Researchers found students who experienced overt victimization such as direct verbal or physical attacks did not report lower future expectations. Prior research established relational victimization affected elementary students' academic performance and standardized test scores over time. Schacter argued schools need to see the effects of bullying not just as a challenging social issue but also as an educational priority.

"As there's been increased recognition of how it can negatively impact teens, more and more schools have, at the very least, adopted anti-bullying policies," Schacter acknowledged. "Unfortunately, it's very time intensive, and can be quite costly to implement evidence-based large-scale school interventions for bullying."

She added it is important to have strong communication between researchers, policymakers and administrators to address bullying so it is not too burdensome for schools and is backed by what researchers have learned.

The biannual Pro-Kid Scorecard from the Children Now Action Fund was released today.

In it, 12 state Assembly members and seven state Senators earned a 100% rating.

Kelly Hardy, senior managing director of health and research at the nonprofit Children Now Action Fund, said the scoring reflects more than how lawmakers vote.

"They voted the right way on health and child welfare, child care, education," Hardy outlined. "They also supported kids in the budget, which is not always an easy thing to do when we've got budget deficits."

The lowest scores hovered around 48%, awarded to lawmakers who voted against certain bills but also voted for proposals like forced outing policies for LGBTQ+ students in schools.

Hardy noted the report is intended to inform voters as they head to the ballot box next month.

"Kids may not vote but we want to elect legislators who do their best to support kids," Hardy explained.

California ranks 35th in the nation for child well-being, according to the latest Annie E. Casey Foundation report and is just above the national average for per-pupil spending on K-12 education.