Around 4 percent of Wisconsin children—about 48,800—are uninsured, according to a study funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The State Health Access Data Assistance Center, a health policy research center at the University of Minnesota, analyzed data from 2016 to 2020 and found that 5 percent of children in the country were uninsured, or about 3,643,900.
While more children have access to health insurance, the center found disparities around race, ethnicity, poverty level and metropolitan status.
“The United States’ lower uninsurance rate for children is encouraging, but the overall data mask stubborn disparities that still limit many kids’ access to healthcare,” said Colin Planalp, a senior research fellow at the center and the report’s lead author. “Plenty of work is still needed to achieve goals of ensuring children have equitable access to health insurance and healthcare, but the high coverage rates among some groups prove that progress is possible.”
The state’s uninsured rates fall below the national average for most demographic groups, except for Native American children. The study found that 23 percent of Native American children in Wisconsin are uninsured, compared to 14.1 percent nationally.
In Wisconsin, 3.6 percent of white children are uninsured, while 1.9 percent of Black children, 6.4 percent of Latinx children and 3 percent of Asian children lack health insurance coverage.
Nationally, 3.9 percent of white children, 4.2 percent of Black children, 7.8 percent of Latinx children and 3.6 percent of Asian children are uninsured.
The study also found disparities in citizenship status and location. In Wisconsin, 12.3 percent of children without citizenship are uninsured, compared to 3.6 percent of children with citizenship who are uninsured.
And 2.9 percent of Wisconsin children living in a metro area were uninsured, while children not in a metro area had an uninsured rate of 4.3 percent.
Children living below the federal poverty line have greater uninsured rates than those above the poverty line.
This article first appeared in the Wisconsin Health News daily email newsletter. Sign up for your free trial here.