Florida leads the nation in reducing the number and rate of uninsured children, according to a study released Tuesday.
From 2008 to 2010, the number of uninsured children in Florida fell by more than 160,000 to 506,934, says the report by researchers at the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. The state’s rate of uninsured kids dropped from 16.7 percent to 12.7 percent.
Florida was one of 34 states and the District of Columbia to reduce its rate of uninsured children since 2008. But there remain wide differences between states. Nevada has the highest rate of uninsured children — 17.4 percent — while Massachusetts has the lowest at 1.5 percent, according to the study which was based on an analysis of Census data. Texas leads the nation in number of uninsured kids with nearly 1 million although it was able to lower its uninsured rate to 14.5 percent from 17 percent.
Nationally, the uninsured rate for children fell from 9 percent to 8 percent from 2008 to 2010, as the number of uninsured children fell by 960,000, the study said.
“I feel very encouraged. This is exciting news,” said Jodi Ray, project director of Florida Covering Kids & Families at the University of South Florida, a statewide coalition that aims to get more children health coverage.
Click here for the entire article!
No comments:
Post a Comment