Summary: Despite larger numbers of parents who work full-time, private health insurance coverage for children is declining. The number of children without health insurance coverage reached 10 million in 1994--the largest number since 1987. In comparison, the number of adults who have lost their health insurance coverage appears to have stabilized during the past two years. Meanwhile, although Medicaid provided health coverage for 16 million children in 1994, more than 60 percent of those children had a working parent. This trend is straining public resources: Taxpayers end up paying either for Medicaid coverage or for hospital subsidies to provide acute care for the uninsured. In response to rising Medicaid costs, state and local governments are considering various program changes, some of which have profound implications for health care coverage for children, such as proposals to remove guaranteed eligibility. Other changes that strengthen the private insurance market may also significantly affect children's future coverage.
