ARKids First has been hugely successful in providing health coverage for kids in Arkansas, despite growing child poverty rates. While the number of children living in poverty has increased to almost 30 percent since 2008, the percentage of children without health coverage has remained very low. This news comes as lawmakers meet to discuss possible changes to health coverage for Arkansans.

The percentage of kids without health coverage stands at six and a half percent. When ARKids began in 1997, nearly a quarter of children were uninsured. The Affordable Care Act provided Arkansas a new opportunity to offer affordable, comprehensive health coverage to entire families. Because of the surge in enrollment, more uninsured children gained coverage through Medicaid, ARKids First, and the Marketplace when their caregivers enrolled. Over 32,000 children enrolled in coverage as a result.

“We’ve made consistent, steady progress in making sure kids are covered,” says Marquita Little, health policy director at Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF)and author of the organization’s annual kids health report.

According to Racing Toward the Finish Line: Kids Health Coverage in 2015, a number of major policy decisions are on the horizon that will shape the future of coverage in Arkansas. Legislation was recently passed that created a 16-member legislative task force to make recommendations about Private Option beyond 2016 and to transform the Medicaid program in the state. That task force will meet today.

“Although we’ve experienced major success covering more Arkansans, many are still left out,” says Little. “We need to keep that in mind while our lawmakers think about changing the Medicaid program. We don’t need to go back on the progress we’ve made.”

According to the report, children and families most likely to be uninsured include:

• Children in households just on the brink of poverty.
• Children in the Northwest region of the state.
• Middle and high-school aged children.
• Immigrant children and families.

Little says there are things we can do to improve access, including:

• Invest in outreach and enrollment activities.
• Protect the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) at the federal level.
• Remove remaining red tape barriers to coverage (as detailed in a 2011 law).
• Extend coverage to legally present immigrant children.
• Provide coverage options for the entire family (because we know kids are more likely to have coverage when their parents have it too).

“Our ability to achieve a comprehensive, family-based coverage system hinges on many key policy decisions in the next year,” says Rich Huddleston, executive director of AACF. “The Arkansas Legislature will have to make some tough decisions about the future design of Medicaid. As the race to insure all children and families continues, the focus should remain on protecting the gains we’ve made and on improving access to health coverage for even more Arkansans.”