A new report by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families shows major increases in the number of kids with health care coverage. 95 percent of American children had health coverage in 2015. Center director Joan Alker says increases are reported across income, racial and geographic lines, but the public is not aware of it.
In Ohio, the uninsured rate for kids dropped by 19 percent between 2013 and 2015. Alker says Ohio's uninsured rate of 4.4 percent is slightly lower than the national average, making the state 29th in the nation. The report credits the decline to the Affordable Care Act, efforts to get people to sign up for coverage under the law, and the state's expansion of Medicaid. The report estimates 115 thousand Ohio children still lack health insurance.