Health Affairs released a brief finding that 1.7 million children gained coverage through Medicaid and CHIP in 2008.  However, the brief notes that 7.3 million children remained uninsured in 2008, 65 percent of whom were eligible for public health coverage.  The authors suggest that expanded Medicaid coverage under the national health care reform law will further improve children’s coverage 

From the brief:

Both Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) offer health insurance coverage to children in low- and moderate-income families. Enrollment has been increasing, and 40 million children were insured by Medicaid or CHIP in 2009. However, an estimated 7.3 million children remained uninsured in 2008, nearly two-thirds of whom were eligible for these programs but were not enrolled.

In early 2010, the US secretary of health and human services, Kathleen Sebelius, issued a challenge to find and enroll approximately 5 million uninsured children eligible for Medicaid or CHIP. This brief describes recent efforts to increase enrollment in these programs and how that experience may inform enrollment efforts under the planned expansion of Medicaid in 2014.

Full Brief: Enrolling More Kids in Medicaid and CHIP 

Health Affairs. (2011). Enrolling more kids in Medicaid and CHIP.