More Money for Testing, But Big Cuts to Children's Insurance

From the New York Times on the most recent U. S. Census Report:

The number of uninsured children under 18 dropped steadily and significantly from 1999 to 2004, thanks largely to an expansion in coverage of low-income children under two programs operated jointly by the states and the federal government, Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Then last year the number of uninsured children jumped more than 600,000 to reach 8.6 million. The main reason, advocacy groups say, is that access and funding for the low-income programs became tighter while employer coverage for dependents eroded.

Now that erosion is sure to start cutting deeper, with recent decisions to restrict Medicaid coverage to children and to restrict expansion of the SCHIP health insurance program.