A Georgetown University study reveals that the United States' Affordable Care Act (ACA) has reduced the number of uninsured children in the nation to historically low figures. It is based on health insurance data reported by the U.S. Census Bureau for 2014, which shows that the rate of kids without health insurance dropped to 6 percent. "Obamacare" expanded a decade of health care progress by Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
The U.S. still has 4.4 million uninsured children. Although the ACA focused on increasing healthcare access to adults, it also expanded health care options for children.
Medicaid and CHIP had already made health coverage more accessible for U.S. children. The ACA made more children qualified for those federal programs.
Several ACA policies had a direct effect on children's access to health care. One term required states to keep the same number of qualified children for health care, and their number of options. The ACA also removed premiums (money paid for health insurance) for many children who moved from CHIP to Medicaid in some states.
In addition, Obamacare made the process of applying and renewing easier. For example, it removed requirements such as tests and interviews.
States that expanded Medicaid coverage for adults also had an increase for children. The coverage rates almost doubled in those states.
However there was still a big gap between the child uninsured rates among different states. Texas had the highest rate. There are now 800,000 kids (11 percent) without health care in that state, according to BABW News.
Nevada had the biggest improvements in children without health insurance. In one year it dropped from 15 percent to only 10 percent.
In addition, many uninsured children live in the South. Most Americans still without health insurance mostly live in the South and Southwest, and are often poor, according to The New York Times.