Medicaid and Uninsured Children, 1994

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on children's health insurance coverage from 1987 through 1994. GAO noted that: (1) data was not sufficient to determine all Medicaid-eligible children or their category of eligibility; (2) the number and percentage of uninsured children reached their highest point in 1994; (3) two-thirds of all Medicaid-eligible children were covered under federal mandates, while the remaining children were covered under state Medicaid expansions; (4) between 1993 and 1994, the percentage of uninsured poor children increased, but there was no significant increase in the percentage of uninsured higher-income children; (5) in 1994, the percentage of uninsured children by state ranged from about 6 percent to over 26 percent and the percentage of Medicaid-eligible children ranged from just under 10 percent to almost 49 percent; (6) 70 percent of Medicaid children with at least one parent working full-time were eligible under other than federal mandates; and (7) the South had the largest number of children on Medicaid and the lowest percentage of Medicaid-eligible children under federal mandates.