Taxpayer dollars play an important role in children's health insurance coverage in the United States. Data from the National Health Interview Survey (2019) reveals that around 41% of U.S. children under the age of 18 have health insurance coverage that depends on public funding. While health benefit programs for government employees, including the military, account for a portion of the child enrollment in taxpayer supported health insurance plans, it is Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that are the two primary drivers of publicly funded health insurance coverage for American children. Federal reports reveal 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. Medicaid, the joint state-federal health insurance program for eligible individuals with limited incomes, provides coverage for more than 30 million U.S. children. Another 6.7 million individuals are enrolled in CHIP plans. CHIP, another joint state-federal initiative, provides health insurance coverage to children from families with low incomes, but not low enough to qualify for standard Medicaid coverage.
As of September 2020, the five-state Rocky Mountain region accounted for 2.6% of the national enrollment in CHIP and 3.2% of American children enrolled in the Medicaid program. Here is a summary look at CHIP and Medicaid Child enrollment in the Rocky Mountain states:
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| CHIP and Medicaid Child Enrollment in the Rocky Mountain States |
| State | (1) CHIP | (2) Medicaid Child | Total |
| CO | 74.0 | 526.1 | 600.1 |
| ID | 27.1 | 159.3 | 186.4 |
| MT | 26.7 | 91.9 | 118.6 |
| UT | 40.0 | 166.5 | 206.5 |
| WY | 4.5 | 36.9 | 41.4 |
| Region | 172.3 | 980.7 | 1,153.0 |
| U.S. | 6,719.1 | 30,641.9 | 37,361.0 |
Source: Medicaid.gov Enrollment Reports as of September, 2020
