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Trump will name more conservative judges. He may even pick a majority of the Supreme Court; Both sides react as Missouri reverses near-total abortion ban Literacy initiative to implement 250 new early-education activations in PA.

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President Biden asks Americans to turn down the temperature, House Speaker Mike Johnson promises an aggressive first 100 day agenda and Democratic governors vow to push back on Trump's plan for mass deportations.

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Texas women travel some of the longest distances for abortion care, Californians the shortest, rural living comes with mixed blessings for veterans, an ancient technique could curtail climate-change wildfires, and escape divisive politics on World Kindness Day.

Report: ID covering fewer kids with public insurance vs. 2019

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Wednesday, May 8, 2024   

As pandemic era protections were lifted, a new report showed the number of children on Medicaid has varied widely between states, with Idaho seeing a steep decline.

The Georgetown University report said nationwide more than 4 million fewer children were enrolled in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program at the end of last year versus spring 2023, before the expiration of continuous coverage. The report estimates in 70% of cases, children's coverage was canceled for procedural or 'red tape' reasons such as difficulty navigating the state's website, reaching a person via a help line, or not receiving renewal notices.

Hillarie Hagen, senior policy associate at Idaho Voices for Children, said Idaho's unwinding of Medicaid coverage was one of the fastest in the nation.

"The timeline that the state set to respond to renewal paperwork was so quick, essentially it created a significant amount of red tape for families to be able to maintain coverage for their children," Hagen explained.

Idaho was one of eight states with fewer children enrolled at the end of last year than prior to the pandemic. The state's 23% drop in enrollment was the fifth-largest in the nation.

The Idaho Children's Health Program offers free as well as low cost health insurance coverage for kids up to 18, and income eligibility for kids is much higher than for adults.

Joan Alker, executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families and co-author of the report, said some states are offering multiyear continuous coverage to young children.

"A significant number of states are making a shift in their policy to offer continuous coverage for young children, in most cases, from birth to age 6, in a few cases to age 3 or 5," Alker noted. "This is a really terrific breakthrough."

To date, 12 states plus the District of Columbia are offering multiyear continuous coverage for children.

Disclosure: The Georgetown University Center for Children and Families contributes to our fund for reporting on Children's Issues, and Health Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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