Something to Celebrate

Guest Blog Post by Gretchen Hammer, executive director of the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved

All Kids Covered recently released Crossing the Finish Line: Achieving Meaningful Health Care Coverage and Access for All Children in Colorado. The report provides an update on the current status of meaningful health care coverage and access for children in Colorado, and describes the significant progress we have made toward getting our children the health care coverage and services they need.

The good news is that between 2008 and 2010, more than 40,000 children gained coverage, meaning that roughly 90% of kids in Colorado now have health insurance. In addition, most children in Colorado have a usual source of care ― a place where they regularly go to get their health care. We should take a moment to celebrate these great accomplishments and thank the countless people who have contributed to this progress.

Of course, there is still more work to be done. Much of the growth in coverage has come through higher enrollment in Medicaid and CHP+, which is from both policy changes to improve public programs and the economic hardships facing many Colorado families.

Additionally, the most recent estimates suggest that between 112,200 and 124,128 children in Colorado still do not have health insurance. And access to care varies across the state. While fewer than 5% of kids in the metro area, the Eastern Plains and Northwest Colorado do not have a usual source of care, nearly 1 in 13 Southwest Colorado children (7.6%) do not have a usual source of care. That’s too many!

It is not too much to ask that all of Colorado’s kids have access to the health care they need, when they need it. To build on the strong momentum of the last few years, All Kids Covered has outlined five key strategies, and we invite you to read through those on pages 15-17 of the report.

Colorado is 90% of the way there to crossing the finish line and covering all kids. It is going to take all of us working together to ensure that our children will have the coverage and care they need to have healthy and fulfilling lives.

A recorded webinar presenting the report and its findings is available online.