Kentucky’s rate of uninsured children down from 5.9% to 4.3% under federal health reform, says report

State ranked 15^th in percent of uninsured children, 26^th in total number

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 29, 2015) — Since the Affordable Care Act took effect on Jan. 1, 2014 Kentucky has been one of the nation’s leaders in decreasing the number of uninsured children under 18, according to a report by Georgetown University. In 2014 in Kentucky 43,298 children under 18 were uninsured, down from 59,530 in 2013, for a change of 27.3 percent. Kentucky, which was ranked 26^th in 2013 with the most overall number of uninsured children under 18, was still ranked 26^th in 2014. Nationally, 4,396,536 children under 18 were uninsured in 2014, down from 5,234,332 in 2013.

The state’s number of uninsured children under 18 dropped from 5.9 percent in 2014 to 4.3 percent in 2013, the 12^th best change in the U.S. In 2014, Kentucky ranked 15^th nationally in the percent of uninsured children in the state, a significant increase from 2013 when Kentucky was ranked 28^th.

“Once again, the benefits of establishing kynect and expanding health care coverage to more Kentuckians have been independently substantiated,” Gov. Steve Beshear said in a statment. “While most people would agree that a healthy child is a better, more productive student, the report found even greater returns in the long term. Children with Medicaid coverage were less likely to drop out of high school and more likely to graduate from college, making them healthier and more successful adults who are less likely to be reliant on government assistance. When we invest early and often in the health and well-being of our children, we are investing in the economic future of our commonwealth. And the return we see on that investment is priceless.”

The national average change for uninsured children from 2013 to 2014 was 1.2 percent. Nevada had the highest change, at 5.3 percent, followed by Colorado (2.6 percent), West Virginia (2.3), Mississippi (2.3), Rhode Island (2.1), Georgia (2.0), Claifornia, Arizona and Montana (1.9), Minnesota (1.8), Florida (1.7) and Kentucky and Texas (1.6).