Thousands of children in Utah go with health insurance each year. About 68,900 kids (7.5%) live in poverty, and 6.3% of kids in Utah are uninsured, ranking Utah 41st in the nation for uninsured children. However, Utah is one of the youngest states, with more than 3.15 million people under the age of 18. In addition, Utah’s Medicaid and CHIP participation rates are consistently low, with a 79.4% participation rate, while the national average is 91.9%. This means ⅕ of Utah children are not claiming their Medicaid or CHIP benefits.
One contributor to the low number of Medicaid and CHIP enrollees in Utah is the end of the nation’s public health emergency status (PHE), ending pandemic-era Medicaid policies like continuous enrollment. Many families were unaware that they needed to resume the regular Medicaid/CHIP renewal process, causing over 50,000 children to lose health coverage. Budget cuts to Medicaid would negatively affect Utah’s most vulnerable children. Despite these statistics, 240,000 Utah children are still covered by Medicaid. Medicaid is proven to improve long term financial stability and educational attainment; kids covered by Medicaid are less likely to drop out of high school and more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree. Better financial and educational outcomes mean that these children contribute more to taxes in adulthood, allowing the government to recoup 53 cents for every dollar spent on Medicaid in these people’s childhoods.
Medicaid eligibility in childhood is also associated with better health outcomes in adulthood, including a 22% reduction in high blood pressure, less hospitalizations, reduced mortality, and improved care of chronic conditions. Medicaid also pays for services provided in schools to Medicaid-eligible children. These include services like speech and occupational therapy, which are necessary for disabled children to gain an education, as well as services that all children need, like dental, vision, and general health screenings. In addition, budget cuts to Medicaid cause parents to lose coverage, harming children. Coverage for parents increases Medicaid enrollment for children, increases use of health services, and reduces child poverty. Low-income children are 29% more likely to get an annual well child visit if their parents have coverage. Reducing Medicaid funding would harm children, as Medicaid and CHIP are proven to work.
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (2018). Medicaid Works for Children. https://www.cbpp.org/research/medicaid-works-for-children Voices for Utah Children. (2024). The State of Kids Coverage: The Path Taken and the Journey Ahead. https://utahchildren.org/newsroom/speaking-of-kids-blog/2024-state-of-kids-coverage
