A majority of US children rely on Medicaid or CHIP, new study finds

Summary:

– About 75% of U.S. children rely on Medicaid , CHIP or ACA subsidies by age 18.

– Roughly 42% experience periods without health insurance during childhood.

– Coverage loss is higher in states that did not expand Medicaid under the ACA.

A majority of children in the United States rely on Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program at some point by their 18th birthday, and many experience periods of coverage loss, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal JAMA.

By their 18th birthday, about 3 in 4 children nationwide relied on Medicaid, CHIP (which subsidizes health care for children and pregnant women in families that earn too much for Medicaid), or the subsidized insurance marketplaces established through the 2010 Affordable Care Act — or expe