A new study highlights the growing dependence of families on public health insurance programs – Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program – to pay for care for their infants and children.

According to a new analysis by the Georgetown University McCourt School for Public Policy,

Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) cover 4 in 10 (39.7%) children under age 3. For families earning less than 200% of the federal poverty level—about $54,640 for a family of three—Medicaid and CHIP are even more critical sources of coverage, insuring approximately three-quarters (74.6%) of infants and toddlers.

Other major findings, also quoted directly from the report:

  • Between 2022 and 2024, the uninsured rate for infants and toddlers under age 3 rose significantly from 4.1% to 5.1%. This increase is equivalent to approximately 113,000 additional uninsured infants and toddlers.    
  • Uninsured rates for infants and toddlers vary by state. Out of the 39 states with available data, rates range from 1.5% in Connecticut to 10.5% in Wyoming. Nearly 1 in 10 children under age 3 are uninsured in Texas (9.3%) and Oklahoma (9.1%)     .
  • Nine states… experienced a significant increase in the uninsured rate among infants and toddlers during the two-year period. Only one state, Kentucky, saw a significant improvement in the uninsured rate for infants and toddlers.
  • Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) cover 4 in 10 (39.7%) children under age 3. For families earning less than 200% of the federal poverty level—about $54,640 for a family of three—Medicaid and CHIP are even more critical sources of coverage, insuring approximately three-quarters (74.6%) of infants and toddlers.
  • Medicaid and CHIP cover more than 6 in 10 American Indian and Alaska Native children (63.3%) and Black children (60.9%) under age 3, and more than half (53.4%) of Hispanic and Latino children under age 3.
  • Medicaid and CHIP coverage rates vary by state. At least 4 in 10 infants and toddlers are covered by Medicaid and CHIP in 20 states, including more than half of infants and toddlers in Oklahoma (51.4%), Mississippi (54.5%), Louisiana (55.6%), and New Mexico (66.5%).

Significant numbers of these infants and toddlers are served by the country’s community safety-net hospitals.

Learn more about these numbers, and the numbers beneath the numbers, from the Georgetown University McCourt School for Public Policy report “Health Coverage Trends for Infants and Toddlers Under Age 3.”