Posted by Tara Manthey on January 22nd 2010
New data show that enacting the delayed 2009 expansion would help the rising number of middle-income families who need child health insurance.
LITTLE ROCK - The number of uninsured children who would be eligible for ARKids First under an expansion passed in 2009 is growing, according to research by Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, indicating that the expansion is needed now more than ever.
The most recent data show that the number of uninsured children living in families earning between 200 and 250 percent of the federal poverty level grew by 2,000 children between 2006 and 2008-just as the recession was beginning. As families suffer from declining employer-provided benefits and the rising cost of insurance, about 9,000 children in that income bracket have no coverage-the highest level in 10 years.
Abandoning the expansion because of declining state revenues doesn't make sense right now, said Elisabeth Wright Burak, health policy director for AACF. It would leave thousands of families in fiscal distress and leave millions of federal dollars on the table.
"Arkansas lawmakers saw the need to extend ARKids First to these struggling families in 2009, which is why they stepped up and passed the much-needed expansion. But now some are having second thoughts," Burak said. "Families are worse off in 2010 than they were in 2009. Unlike the state, they have no more room for cuts and have no money in reserves. Growing children can't wait for health insurance and we can't turn our backs on them when times get tough."
A portion of the tobacco tax increase approved by the 2009 Arkansas General Assembly was intended to cover the $6 million cost of covering 20,000 more children-two-thirds of whom were already eligible before the expansion. That $6 million would bring an estimated $31 million in federal matching dollars and related business activity into the state, Burak said.
"Arkansas leaders have good reason to be concerned about the rising cost of Medicaid," Burak said. "However, research shows that children are the least expensive group to insure. On top of that, keeping children in good health and preventing diseases like diabetes and heart disease ultimately reduces costs to the state as they grow into productive, healthy adults.
"Families are depleted. Clearly, now is not the time to take away this critical and effective health coverage," Burak said
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