Don't Cut a Vital Lifeline for Rural Children

A report released recently by Georgetown University Center for Children and Families and the University of North Carolina Rural Health Research Project, Medicaid in Small Town America: A Lifeline for Children, Families and Communities, confirms what many of us who care for patients in rural areas suspected: Children and families in small towns and rural areas rely on Medicaid for health coverage, and cuts to Medicaid could be devastating for rural America.In Texas, 46 percent of children in rural areas and small towns are enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), compared to 41 percent in urban areas. Across the country those numbers are similar: 45 percent of children in rural areas and small towns receive health coverage through Medicaid, compared to 38 percent of children in urban areas.  One promising finding from the report is that since the 2008-2009 fiscal year, the rate of uninsured adults in rural areas has dropped from 35 percent to 29 percent in Texas.   At the same time, the rate of uninsured children in those areas dropped from 18 percent to 11 percent. Gains for adults were even greater in states that expanded Medicaid.Nationally, the researchers found a direct connection between increases in Medicaid and CHIP coverage and reductions in the rate of uninsured children in small towns and rural areas. Because of these gains, there are currently more children in the United States with health coverage than at any other time in history.