Health insurance programs wholly or partially funded by federal and state tax dollars are an important source of health insurance coverage for children in the United States. The National Health Interview Survey (2022) estimated that close to 44% of children 0 to 17 years of age in the U.S. had publicly subsidized health insurance coverage. Publicly supported child health insurance coverage is provided through Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare, state-sponsored or other government-sponsored health plans, and military health plans. While several sources of public health insurance are available for children, the most substantial ones are Medicaid and CHIP. Medicaid is the joint state-federal health insurance program for eligible individuals with limited income and resources, while CHIP is a joint state-federal effort to make available health insurance for children from families with low incomes, but incomes not low enough to qualify for Medicaid coverage. As of January 2023, federal data indicated that there were almost 41.9 million children enrolled in Medicaid or separate CHIP programs.
That same January 2023 data reveals that the five-state Great Lakes region had over 5.5 million children enrolled in either Medicaid or separate CHIP programs. Of the total Medicaid child and CHIP enrollment reported in January 2023 by 49 states and the District of Columbia, the Great Lakes region accounted for approximately 13.3% of the national total. Here is a summary look at Medicaid child and CHIP enrollment in the Great Lakes region as of January 2023:
|
Medicaid Child and CHIP Enrollment in the Great Lakes Region |
| Area Name |
Enrollment |
% of U.S. Total |
| Illinois |
1,568,138 |
3.8% |
| Indiana |
880,928 |
2.1% |
| Michigan |
1,128,233 |
2.7% |
| Ohio |
1,355,606 |
3.2% |
| Wisconsin |
643,479 |
1.5% |
|
|
|
| Region |
5,576,384 |
13.3% |
|
|
|
| United States (1) |
41,859,753 |
100.0% |
(1) National figures are for the 49 states and the District of Columbia that reported child enrollment data for January 2023
