More Kids with Insurance, More Cash for Connecticut

In December 2011, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reported that the number of children with health insurance has continued to climb since the reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in February 2009.

In 2008, prior to the reauthorization of CHIP, 91% of all children had health insurance coverage. This number increased to nearly 93% in the first half of 2011, corresponding to an additional 1.2 million children with insurance. This increase has been entirely due to greater enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP.

Since CHIP’s creation in 1997, the percentage of children ages 0-17 with health insurance has increased from 86% to 93%.

In December 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services awarded 23 states, including Connecticut, approximately $296 million in bonuses for increasing the number of children enrolled in health insurance programs.