12% of Children in U.S. Uninsured

December 15, 2003 12% of Children in U.S. Uninsured Nationwide, about 9.3 million children, or 12% of the 77 million children under age 19, lack medical insurance. National data show that the troubled economy has caused both children and adults to lose employer-based health coverage. To some extent, the loss of coverage for children (1.4 million since 2000) was offset by increased coverage through two federal health insurance programs, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). However, in response to revenue shortfalls, many states are cutting back on Medicaid and CHIP. For example, since . . .