Today, there is a high liklihood that a child whose four-member family makes $44,100 will be eligible for a government funded health insurance program.
Government health insurance is no longer just for the most poverty-stricken families; middle-class American families can now reap the rewards as well, reports The New York Times.
According to a recent Census Bureau report, the number of uninsured adults was down despite the fact that the poverty rate had risen. The percentage of children under age 19 with health insurance hit an all time high in, 91 percent, up from 90.3 percent in 2008.
“To a surprising extent, the government has really stepped up to provide affordable coverage options for middle-class kids, along with their lower-income counterparts,” said Jocelyn Guyer, co-executive director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University. “It’s a success story.”
Much of this success is fueled by the expansion of government programs such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which merges state and federal aid.
Today, there is a high liklihood that a child whose four-member family makes $44,100 will be eligible for a government funded health insurance program. In areas where there is a high cost of living, the income limits are likewise increased. In New Jersey, the cutoff for a four member family is $71,175; in New York, it is even greater at $88,200.
While the latest reports are encouraging, the there is still more work to be done as seven million children remain uninsured, 4.7 of whom are eligible for government health insurance.
