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Policy & Action

Healthcare

of births in the US are covered by Medicaid
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enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP nationwide
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of children in the US are enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP
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The Importance of Healthcare

Lack of health insurance is a fundamental barrier to getting care and can result in negative health outcomes for children and their families. Access to comprehensive, high-quality health care services is important for promoting and maintaining health, preventing and managing disease, reducing unnecessary disability and premature death, and achieving health equity for all who live in the United States. When health care services are affordable, children are better able to access preventative care services such as well-child visits and immunizations. Ensuring that all people in the United States have access to affordable, high-quality health care is necessary to ensure a more healthy, just and productive society.

Our Research Findings

  • Young children whose parents could not afford medical care and prescriptions for themselves or other family members were more likely to be in fair/poor health, have a history of hospitalizations, be at risk for developmental delays, have parents in fair/poor health, have mothers experiencing depressive symptoms, and experience other material hardships.
  • Young children whose families had health cost sacrifices (when families pay for needed medical care but subsequently experience extreme difficulty paying for other basic needs, like housing, food or utilities) were 83% more likely to be at developmental risk compared to children whose similarly educated and employed families did not experience any health cost sacrifices.
  • Children with public or no insurance have higher rates of foregone care (when a young child or other family member has to forgo needed health care or prescriptions because the family cannot afford it) and both foregone care and health cost sacrifices.
  • Uninsured parents had highest rates of foregone care and other hardships, but privately insured parents had highest rates of health cost sacrifices (sacrificing paying for basic household expenses, such as rent or mortgage payments, food, utilities or transportation, in order to pay for medical care or prescriptions).
  • The most common sacrifices parents made to afford healthcare costs were utilities, rent or mortgage, food and other medical bills.
  • Families who experienced both foregone care and health cost sacrifices are:
    • 49% more likely to be in fair or poor health
    • 38% more likely to be at developmental risk
    • 22% more likely to have been hospitalized
    • 604% more likely to be household food insecure
    • 452% more likely to be child food insecure
    • 352% more likely to have one or more type of housing instability
    • 268% more likely to be in fair or poor health
    • Mothers were 263% more likely to report depressive symptoms

Our Research Findings

  • Housing instability among families with young children is estimated to cost $111 billion in avoidable costs in health care and special education over 10 years.
  • Families with a history of evictions are 5 times more likely to experience homelessness, 3 to 4 times more likely to experience other forms of housing instability, and more likely to have children in fair or poor health.
  • 1 in 6 children in the United States experienced unstable housing.
  • Infants from food-insecure families (vulnerable, low-income families with complex needs) who were eligible for rental assistance but did not receive it were more likely to be hospitalized than infants from similar families who did receive rental assistance.
    Children who experienced cost-driven moves in the past year were more likely to have lost WIC, SNAP, and Medicaid benefits than children who stayed in place.

Policy Priorities

Lack of health insurance is a fundamental barrier to getting care and can result in negative health outcomes for children and their families. Access to comprehensive, high-quality health care services is important for promoting and maintaining health, preventing and managing disease, reducing unnecessary disability and premature death, and achieving health equity for all. When health care services are affordable, children are better able to access preventative care services such as well-child visits and immunizations. Ensuring that all people in the United States have access to affordable, high-quality health care is necessary to ensure a more healthy, just and productive society.

Our research shows providing health insurance to all families and children, regardless of immigration status, boosts overall health and ensures that people are able to access medical care and prescriptions when they need them – without having to sacrifice other basic needs or accrue medical debt. 

Policy Goals

Children’s HealthWatch seeks to improve access to affordable and adequate health care options for all, which include:

  • Increase health care affordability through policies like the Affordable Care Act.
  • Increase health care access by addressing health insurance gaps and barriers to eligibility, expanding the number and types of providers and where they are located, training providers in cultural competency, and reducing costs regardless of insurance status.
  • Reduce medical debt by ending unjust billing practices, offering financial assistance to patients, and preserving community access to care in rural areas and for communities facing the highest barriers to care.
  • Protect and strengthen Medicaid.
  • Promote and invest in opportunities to streamline enrollment and eligibility across public assistance programs.

In July 2025, Congress enacted significant cuts to Medicaid and affordable health care. These cuts will have profound and lasting consequences on millions of families and health systems nationwide. Reducing or removing families’ access to affordable health care will deepen health inequities and increase health care hardships. Reduced Medicaid funding for states will also ripple through entire communities and health systems, impacting the availability of quality health care for all families.

Children’s HealthWatch strongly supports the Protecting Healthcare and Lowering Costs Act, which would fully repeal these harmful cuts. While advocating for federal repeal, we are also working with national and state partners to mitigate the impacts on children and ensure they continue to have reliable access to health care.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Research & Policy Briefs

Action

Share your thoughts and any of our resources with your members of Congress.  Simply call or email them to encourage them to prioritize income stability for the health and well-being of young kids. 

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