Every year we look closely at the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey health insurance coverage data to see what is happening to uninsurance rates, especially for children. The annual data release in September is a snapshot of the previous year, so this most recent release is about what happened in 2023. From 2019 to 2022, the number of uninsured children in Arkansas remained fairly steady because of the continuous coverage protections put in place during the COVID-19 public health emergency.  

Georgetown’s Center for Children and Families published a primer in July about what to expect from this year’s data. Although we already know millions of kids nationwide lost coverage in 2023 (including a net decline of 94,000 Arkansas children from ARKids First), the numbers may not reflect the full scale of losses until next year’s ACS data release in 2025. What we do know is that the majority of children who lose Medicaid are still eligible. This means they aren’t losing coverage because their families are making more money, but because of paperwork or errors.  

In 2022, Arkansas’s child uninsurance rate was 5.9%. 2023 ACS data shows that the percentage has risen to 6.7%. This loss drops Arkansas even further – from 40th  to 42nd – for uninsured children among states. Arkansas used to be a leader in health coverage for children, but we have been heading in the wrong direction since 2016.

ARKids First (Arkansas Medicaid/Children’s Health Insurance Program) covers more than half of Arkansas’s children. Even short gaps in coverage means that kids don’t get annual screenings and families use emergency rooms more often as a last resort. This leads to less routine care and a higher financial burden for struggling families.  

We want Arkansas to be a great place to live and raise children. Making sure every kid in Arkansas has health insurance coverage and access to care is part of that. We have been heading in the wrong direction when it comes to coverage trends, and it’s time to turn things around.  

Some ways that we can make sure kids stay covered: 

• Working together with stakeholders and schools across the state, especially in rural areas 
• Monitor and publish data on enrollment and renewals broken down by age and geography;  
• Multi-year continuous eligibility for ARKids First kids from birth to 6 years old 
• Authorize navigators to help families enroll and stay insured without gaps 
• Permanently eliminate the 90-day waiting period for ARKids Part B