INDIANAPOLIS – The United States has reached a milestone when it comes to making sure that all children have health insurance, according to a new report by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families.
It says 95 percent of the nation’s children are covered. However, Indiana is lagging behind with a 93 percent coverage rate.
Susan Jo Thomas, executive director of Covering Kids and Families in Indiana, says the goal is to have a state full of healthy, happy children.
“When someone has coverage they get their preventative care, in the case of children, get their immunizations, they stay on track to get their developmental needs met, and basically just do a better job of being kids,” she points out. “Getting to school, getting to play sports.”
Nearly 7 percent of Indiana children are not covered by a health insurance plan. The national average is around 5 percent. Between 2013 and 2015, the number of uninsured children in Indiana dropped from 130,000 to 106,000.
