The State of Children’s Health in Pennsylvania

December 28, 2022

Pennsylvania saw modest improvement in the number of children with health insurance during the pandemic, according to a new report from the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children.

The “2022 State of Children’s Health in PA” report released this month includes the most recent figures from the American Community Survey. The report indicates that continuous enrollment in Medicaid enrollment during the pandemic kept more children insured during the past few years.

The report also notes the importance of preparing for the unwinding of continuous enrollment when the COVID-19 public health emergency to ensure children don’t lose coverage.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced just how important quality health insurance is for kids in Pennsylvania,” the report notes.

Among the key takeaways:

• Uninsurance rate:  From 2019 to 2021, the rate of children without uninsurance decreased from 4.6 percent to 4.4 percent.
• By region:  Carbon, Dauphin, Monroe, Westmoreland, and Wyoming had the most improvement in lowering their uninsured rates for children during the past two years.
  • Erie, Clinton, Fayette, Franklin, and Somerset counties were in the bottom five with more children with insurance since the pandemic began.
• Improving trends: The uninsured rates for Asian children (4.2%), Black children (2.7), and white children (4.7%) all improved during the pandemic.
• Insurance providers:  Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Pennie provide coverage to about 47 percent of children in the state. About 68,000 additional children enrolled in Medicaid during the last year.
• Quotable:  “With 126,000 Pennsylvania Children lacking health insurance coverage, this is not the time to sit back,” the report concludes. “The end of the public health emergency is on the horizon.”

The full report is available to review online.