Policy: Health

What We Know about Health

• Providing children with access to health insurance is essential for helping them grow up safe, healthy, and housed.
• Approximately 11% of our nation’s children are uninsured.
• Two-thirds of uninsured children are eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP, but are not enrolled.
• Presumptive eligibility helps children receive care more quickly, but only 14 states have it for Medicaid and nine for SCHIP.

Homelessness itself can make children sick. Homeless children are in poorer health than other children. Children who are uninsured are more likely than their insured peers to lack a regular source of care, to delay care, or to have unmet medical needs. Their families are more likely to incur medical debts that lead to difficulty paying other monthly expenses such as rent, food, and utilities.¹³¹ Providing children with access to health insurance is essential for helping them grow up safe, healthy, and housed.

Approximately 11% (or 8.9 million) of our nation’s children are uninsured.¹³² Texas has the highest rate of uninsured children at 22% and Massachusetts has the lowest rate at 5%.¹³³

Medicaid is the primary way that children who are homeless receive health insurance. Roughly 19% of state Medicaid expenditures are for children. Medicaid eligibility is determined based on family income as a percentage of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). Thirty-two states change children’s eligibility based on their age. For example, in Delaware, infants are eligible for Medicaid at 200% of FPL, children ages one through five are eligible at 133% of FPL, and children ages six through 19 are eligible at 100% of FPL. When children are no longer eligible for Medicaid, they can enroll in SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Program), a federally funded program administered by states to insure children. Despite these two programs, two-thirds of uninsured children are eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP, but are un-enrolled.¹³⁴

Fourteen states have presumptive eligibility for Medicaid and nine have it for SCHIP.¹³⁵ Presumptive eligibility allows certain places that routinely serve low-income families (e.g., health centers, Head Start programs) to insure children without verifying their family's income first. Programs instead are able to deem a child eligible for coverage based on the income reported by their family. The agency then has one month to verify that stated income, but in the meantime, the child is able to receive all health services covered under Medicaid or SCHIP.¹³⁶