Cover More Kids
Strategies to reduce the number of Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs who do not have health insurance.
Printable version (PDF)Five to nine percent of Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN) are without health insurance coverage. While the percent of uninsured CYSHCN may be small compared to that of the general population, for those approximately 900,000 children the lack of health insurance is a fundamental threat to their health, development and well-being. Strategies to reduce the number of CYSHCN who do not have health insurance include:
- Expand eligibility for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP);
- The TEFRA State Plan Option for Severely Disabled Children (formerly Katie Beckett waivers);
- Home and Community-Based Services Waivers (referred to as 1915c waivers);
- Premium assistance;
- Assistance with other costs of insurance;
- Private sector initiatives;
- Comprehensive health care reform;
- Medicaid buy-in programs; and
- Other strategies to expand coverage
