Indiana has 16th highest percentage of insured children

Many Americans think child welfare is not a pressing issue at this time of war and economic recession. However, according to a recent report published by the Every Child Matters Education Fund, in 2006, 7.8 percent of Indiana children were not covered by health insurance at any time. That puts Indiana behind 15 other states for the lowest number of children without insurance. The state has 84 percent more uninsured children than Rhode Island, which has the most children insured (only 4.2 percent of its children are uninsured). \nDavid Laird, a government affairs associate with the child advocacy network Voices for America’s Children, said that hundreds of thousands of children across the United States are not receiving the proper health care needed to support a healthy lifestyle.\nKathy Byers, the program director for IU’s Bachelor of Social Work program, said the main goal is to provide growing children with a healthy, safe and supportive upbringing and ultimately ensure these children are able to become productive members of our society. \nThe biggest risk is that of neglect, she said. Parents will put off medical care until they think it is an absolute emergency and their children are in danger. If a child has a chronic ear infection and the child is not provided medical attention immediately, it can lead to hearing loss, and that’s just one example of neglect many uninsured children face every day, Byers said. \nAffordable and equal health care is something to which every child is entitled, but thousands of children receive no health care, Laird said. Among those not receiving health care are children who are eligible but remain uninsured because of outreach issues or lack of available funds.\nIndiana is not the only state with a high number of uninsured children. Texas ranks last because about 21 percent of its children are uninsured. \nUninsured children come from families that cannot afford to insure their children or do not receive insurance from their employers, said Angela Madnick, campaigns communications manager for Every Child Matters Education Fund. Among other issues children face are inadequate federal and state funding. States can fund children’s health programs in many ways, but they seem to focus on other issues, Madnick said.\n“We need to make children a priority,” she said.