Ohio has seen an increase in the number of children without health insurance since the unwinding of pandemic-era Medicaid continuous coverage. From 2022 to 2024, about 30,000 more children became uninsured.
The rate of children without health coverage has hit a decade-long high nationwide, according to from the Census Bureau鈥檚 American Community Survey. Ohio is among 22 states that have seen a statistically significant increase in uninsured children.
鈥淭hese numbers are really a wake-up call for elected officials that it's time to roll up their sleeves and try to figure out what's gone wrong here,鈥� said Joan Alker, the executive director of the Center for Children and Families at the Georgetown McCourt School of Public Policy.
The so-called Medicaid unwinding
Alker attributes the rising rate of uninsured children to the redetermination of Medicaid eligibility after pandemic-era coverage mandates expired 鈥� a process often referred to as Medicaid unwinding.
鈥淯nfortunately, that was a tough process. We were very worried that in states that didn't do a super careful job, we would lose children who should have remained on Medicaid. I think that is what's driving this increase,鈥� she said.
The result has been Ohio鈥檚 rate of uninsured children rising , sitting slightly below the national average. Around 152,000 children in Ohio lacked health care coverage in 2024.
鈥淭he uninsured rate for children went up in 2024, and that was not true for adults. So children were hit harder by the Medicaid unwinding,鈥� she said.
鈥楧ark clouds鈥� ahead
Alker warned the trend will only grow as Medicaid faces , beginning in 2027.
鈥�There's nothing more important for children than Medicaid,鈥� Alker said. 鈥淎nd so, by exacting these kinds of huge cuts, there's no way to spare children some harmful impacts.鈥�
Other federal policies could also deepen the problem, Alger said, including proposals to in the Affordable Care Act marketplace and deportation policies that could from enrolling their children in coverage.
鈥淭hose are just two examples of reasons why we think the uninsured rate is gonna continue to go up for children even before we get to the huge cuts,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o it's a bleak outlook.鈥�
Why it matters
Without insurance, health care often becomes too expensive, Alker said.
Children are regular users of health care, receiving immunizations, check ups and treatment for common conditions, like asthma. If they lack coverage, Alger said many families will struggle to get the preventative care they need.
鈥淚f you're uninsured, that raises the barriers to getting (preventative) medications. The child's more likely to wind up in the emergency room, having a crisis, which is expensive. It's traumatic, it inhibits them from going to school, it just has a whole cascading effect, which ends up being much more costly for the family and for society at large.鈥�