Uninsured rate for children climbs for first time in nearly a decade

The number of uninsured U.S. children rose by 276,000 in 2017, the first increase since comparable data became available in 2008, according to a new analysis by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. The total number of uninsured children rose to an estimated 3.9 million or 5 percent. Only the District of Columbia experienced a significant decline in the number of uninsured children, while nine states experienced an increase in their uninsured rate for children. Three-quarters of the children who lost coverage live in states that have not expanded Medicaid coverage to parents and other low-income adults, the authors said.