215,000 Ohio children do not have insurance, study finds

An analysis of Census Bureau data by health care advocacy group Families USA has found that 215,000 children in Ohio do not have health insurance (Source: “7 percent of Ohio kids not insured,” Columbus Dispatch, Nov. 26, 2008).

Nationwide, 8.6 million, or about one in nine were uninsured in 2007, down 6 percent from 2006, according to the report. Ohio’s uninsured rate of 7 percent for children is 37th highest in the nation (the national average was 11 percent). Although the rate was down in 2007, some advocates fear that the worsening economy will mean the child uninsured rate will increase this year.
 
"The economy has deteriorated since that time, and as a result, many children who in the past got health insurance through their parents' job may no longer have it because their parents got a pink slip and are no longer insured," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA.

Like many states, Ohio is looking for ways to expand eligibility for state-sponsored coverage for children. The state is waiting for federal regulators to approve its request to expand eligibility coverage to children in families earning up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level. Currently, Ohio caps eligibility at 200 percent.