The number of children in Arkansas without health
insurance has gone from 22 percent to 6 since ARKids First was created in 1997.
Arkansas
was ranked fourth in the country at enrolling eligible children in programs
such as ARKids First and Medicaid in 2011, according to Arkansas Advocates for
Children and Families. This is despite the fact that 27 percent of children in
Arkansas live in poverty compared to a national average of 20 percent stated in
a study done by Georgetown University.
The states
with the lowest levels of uninsured are Massachusetts and Vermont at 2 percent
and Connecticut with 3 percent. Nevada has the highest amount of uninsured
children with its percentage at sixteen.
The study
shows that 92.5 percent of children eligible for ARKids First are enrolled in
the program. The program was designed for families with incomes too high to
qualify for Medicaid but still so low that they could not afford private
insurance. “I think this is an unequivocal success for the state, “said
Arkansas Surgeon General Joe Thompson. “In 15 years we’ve dropped the portion
of uninsured children dramatically…and there’s no question that that has given
parents more security about the health of their kids and less anxiety about
being able to care for them.”
While great
strides have been made to reduce the number of uninsured in Arkansas that 6
percent left without insurance amounts to 46,000 says Anna Strong, health-policy
director for Arkansas advocates. This 46,000 are children ages 18 and under
that has an income too high to allow for coverage under ARkids but also an
income too low to afford private insurance. “The report does highlight some
areas where we could make more progress and where we could do a little better
job, but I think we’ve done an incredible job overall,” Strong said. “Our big
goal is to cover all kids and families,” Strong said. “We would love to see
every family in Arkansas have health coverage,” she said.
ARKids
First is a state program that was created and made law by former Arkansas Gov.
Mike Huckabee. This is a great program and I hope improvements continue to be made
so that no child in Arkansas goes without health coverage and every parent can
have the peace of mind knowing their child can receive the care they need
without facing financial hardship.
