More than 16,000 additional Kentucky children have gained health insurance since the federal health-reform law took effect
The study found that the uninsured rate for Kentucky’s children dropped to 4.3 percent in 2014, the first year subsidized health insurance could be purchased under the reform law. More than 10 percent of private insurance on Kynect, the state insurance exchange, covers children. These rates are “much higher than the national averages,” says the release.
Researchers attributed the increase in coverage to the tax-credit subsidies that are available to those who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but still can’t afford the full cost of private health insurance. They also cited outreach efforts by Kynect, and parents enrolling their children in coverage when they themselves enrolled.
The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky has contracted with State Health Access Data Assistance Center, a health policy research institute at the University of Minnesota, to conduct the series of studies.