Published: September 22, 2009 07:35 pm      

One positive — 09/24/09

93 percent of state’s children do have health insurance

If after reading the above editorial, you may think Kentucky must rank near the bottom in just about every negative area. Well, here’s a bit of good news: Despite its high level of poverty, Kentucky ranks above the national average in the percentage of children with health insurance. According to the latest figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau, 93 percent of Kentucky children have health insurance, compared with 90 percent for the United States overall.

Actually, Kentucky’s high rate of childhood poverty may be a reason for the high number of children with insurance. Kentucky has been aggressive in its efforts to enroll more lower-income children in Medicaid and the Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program. KCHIP provides free or low-cost health insurance to children whose families earn up to double the federal poverty guidelines, or $44,100 annually for a family of four.

Since Gov. Steve Beshear announced last November a new program designed to secure health insurance for more low-income children, an estimated 67,000 eligible Kentucky children have signed up for either Medicaid or KCHIP.

While access to quality health care remains a problem for many Kentucky adults, well over nine out of every 10 Kentucky children have health insurance. In a state burdened by many negative statistics, that’s a positive.