The Health and Well-Being of Children in Rural Areas: A Portrait of the Nation 2005
Home The Child The Child's Family The Child and Family's Neighborhood Order
Overall Child Health Status  |  Children with Moderate or Severe Health Conditions
Breastfeeding  |  Children with Moderate or Severe Socio-Emotional Difficulties  |  Impact of Socio-Emotional Difficulties
Overweight  |  Injury  |  Parents' Concerns  |  Current Health Insurance  |  Coverage Consistency  |  Preventive Health Care Visits
 Preventive Dental Visits  |  Medical Home  |  Staying Home Alone  |  Repeating a Grade  |  Regular Physical Activity

Coverage Consistency

Although over 90 percent of children have health insurance, some experience periods of time when they are not covered over the course of a year. Overall, 15.0 percent of children experienced a gap in their coverage at some point over the past year (including those who were uninsured at the time of the survey). The percent of children experiencing a gap in health insurance coverage at some time during the year varies little by location: 14.9 percent of children in urban areas experience inconsistent insurance coverage, as do 14.6 percent of children in large rural areas and 15.6 percent of children in small rural areas.

In general, gaps in health insurance coverage are more likely to occur among children with lower family incomes and children who are Hispanic or American Indian/Alaska Native. With regard to income, children with lower family incomes are most likely to experience gaps in coverage in urban areas, while children with higher family incomes are most likely to experience such gaps in small rural areas. For instance, the rates among children with family incomes below the Federal poverty level (FPL) are 26.6 percent in urban areas and 18.8 percent in small rural areas; conversely, the rates among children with family incomes of 400 percent of FPL and above are 7.2 percent in small rural areas and 4.8 percent in urban areas.

Hispanic children, who experience the highest rate of coverage gaps of any racial or ethnic group, are least likely to experience such gaps in large rural areas (25.8 percent) and most likely in small rural areas (31.1 percent). American Indian/Alaska Native children, who experience high rates of coverage inconsistency, are also most likely to experience gaps in coverage in rural areas (25.2 percent). White children have some of the lowest rates of coverage inconsistency and, as with Hispanic and American Indian/ Alaska Native children, their highest rate occurs in small rural areas (13.9 percent). Black children are the only racial or ethnic group whose highest rate of inconsistent coverage occurs in urban areas (16.4 percent).

Graph: Percent of children lacking consistent insurance coverage in the past year, by location

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This chartbook is based on data from the National Survey of Children's Health. Suggested citation: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The National Survey of Children's Health 2003. Rockville, Maryland: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2005.