Washington, D.C. – Today, Representative Kathy Castor reintroduced the Keep Kids Covered Act to provide continuous health care coverage for children who rely on Medicaid and CHIP. This bill would ensure children who rely on Medicaid and CHIP stay covered for at least two years, even if their circumstances change. Medicaid helps children stay healthy and leads to long-term benefits when they grow up, such as higher incomes.
“Rep. Kathy Castor is fighting to protect children’s health care in the wake of Donald Trump and Republicans’ health care emergency,” said Protect Our Care Chair Leslie Dach. “Republicans’ actions are ripping coverage away from hard-working families and putting children at risk, but Democrats are working to ensure kids can stay covered and get the care they need to grow up healthy and strong. No child should lose care just because Republicans want to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations.”
By The Numbers
- Nearly Half of American Children Are Enrolled In Medicaid. Approximately 31.5 million children in the United States are enrolled in Medicaid. In school districts across the country, as many as 9 in 10 children are covered by Medicaid. See here for more information on the percentage of children in your school district covered by Medicaid.
- Children Have the Highest Poverty Rate of Any Age Group in America. Without Medicaid, millions of children will be more likely to suffer from bad health, get trapped in a cycle of poverty, and be denied long, healthy lives.
- Medicaid Is Essential To Combat America’s Youth Mental Health Crisis. Nearly 1 in 5 children in the United States struggle with a mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral disorder. Medicaid provides 31 million children with the help that they need by requiring states to cover mental health screenings as part of the EPSDT benefit. When asked why they missed class, 16 percent of high school students cited anxiety, and another 12 percent listed sadness and depression, according to a fall 2023 survey. Medicaid is supporting efforts to provide mental health support and helping them show up to school feeling their best.
- Medicaid Sets Children Up For Success. Children who are eligible for Medicaid do better in school, miss fewer school days, and are more likely to finish high school, attend college, and graduate from college. Medicaid for children also has a positive impact on employment and earnings later in life. According to a 2021 NBER analysis, for each additional year of Medicaid eligibility as a child, adults by age 28 had higher earnings and made $533 additional cumulative tax payments due to their higher incomes.
- Medicaid Is A Lifeline For Rural Children. Children in rural areas rely on Medicaid for school based care when hospitals or doctors’ offices may be far away. Medicaid allows rural schools to provide on site nurses, access to mental health therapists, and other telehealth options. Children are more than six times more likely to access health care at school.