A study released on Friday by the Kaiser Commission finds that nearly 145,000 poor children were “dropped” from the federal-state sponsored State Children’s Health Insurance Program in the second half of 2003, marking the first decline in enrollment since the program was launched in 1998, Reuters Health reports. Eleven states had some cuts, with Texas among those making “noteworthy” cuts and Maryland and New York each discontinuing coverage for 23,000 children. A spokesperson for the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured said that the cuts are “a major setback when millions of uninsured children are eligible but not enrolled.” Meanwhile, Reuters notes that in some cases, children shifted coverage from the State Children’s Health Insurance Program to Medicaid. The children’s health insurance program cost the federal government $3.7 billion and states $1.6 billion in fiscal year 2002 (Gralla, 7/26).
