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The federal Medicaid program has been the primary source of health coverage for
poor and lower-income children across the country since 1965. Medicaid,
together with the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) authorized
by Congress in 1997, offers health coverage for millions of children who would
otherwise go uninsured. Despite the availability of these programs, many
eligible children do not participate in them. The Southern Institute on
Children and Families is a nationally recognized leader in improving access to
public health coverage for lower-income children, and we recognize the need and
opportunity to provide southern states with data to assist them in making
informed decisions about health coverage for uninsured children.
The Southern Institute released the first edition of Uninsured Children in the
South in 1992 with support from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. The
report provided state-by-state data on estimates of uninsured children with age
and income breakouts related to Medicaid for Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, the
District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland,
Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. The report was well-received by officials
and advocates who considered it a credible source of data as they attempted to
expand access to coverage for lower-income, uninsured children. Popularity of
the report led the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation to fund a second edition
of Uninsured Children in the South, which was released by the Southern
Institute in 1996. Both editions served as catalysts for action in southern
states.
In December 2005, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation funded the Southern
Institute to publish a third edition of Uninsured Children in the South. The
third edition of Uninsured Children in the South was released in November 2007.
It provides state-by-state data on estimates of uninsured children with age and
income breakouts related to Medicaid and SCHIP for Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware,
the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland,
Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Unlike previous editions of Uninsured
Children in the South, the third edition also contains data on women who were
uninsured during pregnancy and at the time they gave birth. The Southern
Institute also outlines recommendations on actions states can take to simplify
public health coverage programs to allow eligible, uninsured children and
pregnant women to access and retain public health coverage.
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