Health Insurance: Uninsured Children, by State, 2005-2007 (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Aug. 29, 2008 |
| Report Number |
97-310 |
| Authors |
Chris L. Peterson and April Grady, Domestic Social Policy Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
In 2005, an estimated 9.0 million children under age 19 were without healthinsurance, representing 11.6% of all children in the United States. The proportion ofchildren without health insurance varies significantly from state to state. To providemore reliable state-level estimates of children for all 50 states and the District ofColumbia, a three-year average is used. Data collected by the Bureau of the Censusindicate that over the three years from 2003 to 2005, the average annual percentage ofchildren without health insurance ranged from a low of 5.6% in Vermont to a high of20.3% in Texas. The proportion of children without health insurance tended to be lowerin the Midwest and New England, and higher in the South and West. In 27 states andthe District of Columbia, the annual uninsurance rate for children from 2003 to 2005was significantly below the national average, which was 11.5% over the three-yearperiod. Nine states had an uninsurance rate significantly higher than the nationalaverage. Uninsurance among children in Texas (20.3%) was significantly higher thanany other state, including Florida, the state with the second-highest rate of uninsuredchildren (16.9%).
