Universal Health Insurance for Children

Large and increasing numbers of Americans lack health insurance. While children have recently fared better than adults, millions still lack coverage, and thus experience difficulty obtaining acute and preventive care during a critical period of growth and development. This situation has both short and long-term social and economic implications, including higher health care costs for episodic and end-stage treatment, loss of productivity, and rising insurance costs to businesses. This paper describes past and current efforts to extend health insurance to children and explores options for achieving universal coverage among children. Specifically, it describes the challenges associated with the financing and delivery of the American health care system, outlines public policy approaches to covering children historically, presents the current status of health insurance for low-income children, and offers options for achieving universal health insurance for children.