Report shows trends in US children's health insurance coverage.

The AP (11/30, Kennedy) writes that "a report released Tuesday by Georgetown University" shows that "the number of children without health insurance in the US has dropped by one million in the past three years. ... Many states have expanded eligibility for, and simplified access to, the children's Medicaid program. This has helped shrink the number of uninsured children from 6.9 million in 2008 to 5.9 million in 2010."

        On its website, CBS News (11/30) reports, "Minnesota and Kansas saw an increase in the number of uninsured children. Florida made the most progress, dropping from 667,758 to 506,934 during that time period."

        The Hill (11/30, Pecquet) "Healthwatch" blog reports, "The report credits public programs like Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program for giving children access to healthcare even as the number of children living in poverty soared from 13.2 million to 15.7 million. It notes that private coverage for children fell during the 2008-2010 period (from 64.1 percent to 59.6 percent of children covered) while the percentage of children in public programs increased from 30.2 percent to 36 percent."

        Utah slightly below US average. The Salt Lake (UT) Tribune (11/30, Stewart) reports, "Utah's performance is just below average. Last year, 94,691 kids were without health coverage, down 13.8 percent from 107,821 in 2008. That worries advocates who say Utah already ranks 43rd on a per capita basis for its rate of uninsured kids." Voices for Utah Children's Lincoln Nehring suggested that "gains could be made by guaranteeing children on Medicaid 12 months of continuous eligibility," and by removing "the asset test on Medicaid."

        Minnesota children's coverage decreased sharply. Minneapolis Star Tribune (11/30, Olson) reports, "The number of children without health insurance rose sharply in the past two years in Minnesota, making it the only state to see a significant increase since 2008, according to a report released Tuesday. Uninsured Minnesota kids totaled 84,000, although that number could fall again as a result of changes enacted by the Legislature in 2009. The uninsured rate rose from 5.8 to 6.6 percent." One reason is that adult "eligibility for subsidized health programs such as Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare" were reduced.

        The St. Paul Pioneer-Press (11/30) reports, "In 2010, Minnesota still had a lower uninsured rate among children than the national average of eight percent."

        Florida saw largest decrease in uninsured children. The Kaiser Health News (11/30) "Capsules" blog reports, "Florida leads the nation in reducing the number and rate of uninsured children," according to the report. "From 2008 to 2010, the number of uninsured children in Florida fell by more than 160,000 to 506,934," and "the state's rate of uninsured kids dropped from 16.7 percent to 12.7 percent. ... Joan Alker, co-executive director of the Georgetown Center for Children and Families, attributes the big drop in Florida to more kids becoming eligible for Medicaid due to families' declining income in the economic downturn."