CHIP and Medicaid Child Enrollment in the MidEast Region

The National Health Interview Survey (2019) estimated that about 41% of American children under the age of 18 have health insurance coverage that depends on public funding. Health benefit programs for government personnel, including the military, are a source of some of the child enrollment in health insurance plans subsidized by taxpayer dollars.  However, it is Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that are the two primary drivers of publicly funded health insurance coverage for children in the United States. Medicaid is the joint state-federal health insurance program for eligible individuals with limited income and resources.  Similarly, CHIP is a joint state-federal effort to make available health insurance coverage for children from families with low incomes, but not low enough to qualify for standard Medicaid coverage.  Federal reports indicate that, as of September 2020, there were 37.4 million individuals who were either enrolled in CHIP or who were children enrolled in the Medicaid program.

That same September 2020 data reveals that the five-state MidEast region accounted for 17.9% of the national enrollment in CHIP and 14.5% of U.S. children enrolled in the Medicaid program.  Here is a summary look at CHIP and Medicaid Child enrollment in the MidEast region of the United States:

CHIP and Medicaid Child Enrollment in the MidEast Region

State	(1) CHIP	(2) Medicaid Child	Total
DE	11.2	99.9	111.1
DC	17.4	76.9	94.3
MD	143.0	504.7	647.7
NJ	239.8	619.9	859.7
NY	612.2	1,869.9	2,482.1
PA	177.9	1,276.7	1,454.6
Region	1,201.5	4,448.0	5,649.5
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