CHIP and Medicaid Child Enrollment in the Great Lakes Region

The National Health Interview Survey (2019) revealed that about 41% of children under the age of 18 in the U.S. have health insurance coverage funded all or in part by taxpayer dollars. While health benefit programs for local, state and federal government employees, including military personnel, account for some of the child enrollment in taxpayer funded health insurance plans, the vast majority of such coverage is provided by Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Medicaid is the joint state-federal health insurance program for eligible Americans with limited income and resources.  CHIP is a similar joint state-federal effort, one aimed at making available health insurance for children from poor families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid coverage.  Federal reports from September 2020 reveal that there were about 37.4 million individuals who were either enrolled in CHIP or who were children enrolled in the Medicaid program.

That September 2020 data tells us that the five-state Great Lakes region accounted for 10.9% of the U.S. children who were enrolled in CHIP and 14.0% of U.S. children enrolled in the Medicaid program.  Here is a summary look at CHIP and Medicaid Child enrollment in the Great Lakes region:

CHIP and Medicaid Child Enrollment in the Great Lakes Region

State	(1) CHIP	(2) Medicaid Child	Total
IL	299.1	1,105.2	1,404.3
IN	109.7	746.4	856.1
MI	58.6	934.6	993.2
OH	194.6	1,042.5	1,237.1
WI	70.5	475.3	545.8
Region	732.5	4,304.0	5,036.5
U.S.	6,719.1	30,641.9	37,361.0

(1) CHIP enrollment, in thousands

(2) Children enrolled in Medicaid plans, in thousands (derived by deducting State reported CHIP enrollment from State Reported Total Medicaid Child and CHIP enrollment)

Source: Medicaid.gov Enrollment Reports as of September, 2020