Uninsured Rate for Our Youngest Children Rising at an Alarming Pace

The uninsured rate for our nation’s youngest children is rising at an alarming pace, and the trend should be a wake-up call for Arizona’s policymakers. After years of progress, more infants, toddlers, and preschoolers are going without health insurance. It’s a troubling reversal that puts young children’s health and development at risk while adding financial stress for families already stretched thin by rising costs.

A new report from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families (CCF) shows that more than 43,200 children ages 0-6 were uninsured in Arizona in 2024. The report shows that 9 percent of Arizona’s children under age 6 were uninsured in 2024, compared to 7.4 percent in 2022. Unfortunately, Arizona ranks well above the national share of 5.3 percent and has the third highest rate of uninsured children under 6 in the nation. 

The findings highlight what’s at stake for our youngest children:

• More young children are losing coverage. Babies, toddlers, and preschoolers are seeing sharper coverage losses than older children just as they need important check up appointments. 
• Coverage protects families from rising costs. Health insurance helps families afford care, avoid medical debt, and give young children a healthier, more stable start.
• Without action, more children could lose coverage. Medicaid cuts and new administrative hurdles could make it harder for families to get and keep health insurance for their children.

Research shows that Medicaid coverage for children is linked to better access to care and improved health, educational, and economic outcomes in adulthood. Access to health care is especially important for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, who require frequent visits to the doctor during their earliest years of life. When young children are insured, families have a better chance of detecting developmental delays and other health issues that can affect a child’s ability to learn. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends 12 checkups by the time a toddler turns 3, helping ensure children are developing properly and receiving the preventive care they need.

More recent enrollment data adds to the concern. Georgetown CCF’s Medicaid and CHIP enrollment tracker has recorded nearly 75,000 fewer children (-11.3%), enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP since January 2025 in Arizona.

The situation in Arizona could have been even worse, but Governor Hobbs and the Arizona Legislature scored a bipartisan win for children when they expanded the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) – Kids Care – to 225% of the Federal Poverty Limit beginning in 2024, allowing over 22,000 more children to qualify for health care coverage.

Coverage matters for parents, too. When parents lose their health coverage, their children are more likely to become uninsured, putting the whole family at risk of financial hardship.

We can all agree that no child should have to go without health care. Children’s Action Alliance urges Arizona lawmakers to take action to reduce the number of uninsured young children and ensure eligible children can get and keep affordable health coverage. As Arizona’s budget negotiations are finalized, it is critical Arizona’s leaders provide funding for AHCCCS and DES to meet the implementation challenges of H.R.1 and prevent even more children from losing health care coverage.