Published on September 4, 2010 at 4:02 AM
As many as 5 million uninsured kids are eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program, according to a report published Friday in the journal Health Affairs,
Reuters reports. "An estimated 7.3 million children were uninsured on an average day in 2008 and 65 percent of them were eligible for Medicaid or CHIP coverage, the report said. … Thirty-nine percent of eligible uninsured children live in just three states — California, Texas and Florida, the report by the Washington-based Urban Institute Health Policy Center said. It added that more than half of the nation's children live in these states." Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement that the finding would help focus efforts to expand insurance coverage (9/3).