The Role of Medicaid and SCHIP as an Insurance Safety Net
The Urban Institute:
Most people with private health insurance in the United States get it through an employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) plan.
However, in recent years, the likelihood of having ESI has been falling, as it becomes more and more difficult for employers and employees to afford the costs of these plans.1 Losing ESI is a particularly serious problem among low-income families, for whom purchasing private coverage on their own would represent a severe financial hardship.
Eligibility for these two major public programs favors children over adults in virtually every state.
In fact, almost 75 percent of all uninsured children are eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP, compared to only 14 percent of uninsured adults.3 This broad eligibility for children's coverage through public programs will be debated over the next year as Congress considers the reauthorization of the SCHIP program.
