More Children Were Covered by Medicaid and CHIP in 2021

The number of children under age 19 without health insurance fell to 3.9 million in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual report on health insurance coverage released today.

That’s 475,000 fewer children without coverage than in 2020.

Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2021 shows that children received coverage from a variety of sources. Most children (61.9%) had private coverage primarily through their parents’ plan (Figure 1) but a growing share above the poverty level were covered by public programs.

Many lower-income children qualify for public health assistance programs, such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

The uninsured rate among children decreased 0.6 percentage points to 5.0% between 2020 and 2021, driven by an increase in public coverage such as Medicaid and CHIP.

Medicaid provides health insurance coverage for children and adults with incomes below a certain income level. CHIP provides health insurance for children in families with income too high to qualify for Medicaid but likely can’t afford private health insurance.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress increased funding for Medicaid and passed laws to keep individuals from losing Medicaid coverageduring the national health emergency.

In 2021, Congress also introduced measures to increase access to care by reducing the cost of Health Insurance Marketplace coverage (created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or ACA). In addition, some states adopted measures to make it easier to apply for ACA coverage.

These changes may have contributed to the increase in health coverage of children — even those above the poverty level.

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