The number of uninsured children increased nationally by more than 400,000 between 2016 and 2018, reversing a long-standing positive trend according to a new report released by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. Nationwide, more than 4 million children were uninsured in 2018, the highest level since the Affordable Care Act’s major coverage provisions took effect in 2014.

In Wisconsin, an estimated 51,000 children were uninsured in 2018. That’s largely unchanged from 2016, but this stagnation happened during a period of economic growth when children should be gaining health coverage. Our state was once a leader in insurance coverage for kids, but it now ranks 21st and is well behind each of our neighbor states. If Wisconsin caught up with the uninsured rate in Iowa, we would have almost 15,000 fewer uninsured children.

Recent policy changes and the failure to make children’s health a priority have undercut initiatives that had propelled us forward on children’s health coverage. Stalled progress and serious erosion of child health coverage is due in large part to the Trump Administration’s actions or inaction that have made health coverage harder to access and have deterred families from enrolling their eligible children in Medicaid or BadgerCare in Wisconsin.

In Wisconsin, the impact of the Trump Administration’s actions may show up more fully in 2019 and 2020, particularly for immigrant families and their citizen children who are eligible for health insurance. Latinx children in Wisconsin have higher uninsured rates than white, Black, or Asian children in the state.

Like many states, the majority of uninsured children are eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program but are not currently enrolled. This is particularly true for Native American children who are uninsured at the highest rate in the state, and many of them are likely eligible for Medicaid or BadgerCare in Wisconsin.

Along with the report, the Georgetown University research center launched a new interactive data hub that provides a more in-depth look at child health care trends in Wisconsin and across the country, allowing users to compare a variety of metrics across states.

Click here to read the report and learn more!