Racial, wealth coverage gaps close among children

The percentage of children without insurance fell from 9.7 percent in 2008 to 7.5 percent in 2012, largely due to public programs such as Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), according to a new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The report found Hispanic and nonwhite children experienced the greatest gains in insurance coverage. Moreover, coverage disparities between low-income and higher-income children narrowed over time. Low-income children were 4.5 times more likely to be uninsured than those with incomes above 400 percent of poverty, which was down from 5.3 times in 2008. Report (.pdf)