12,000 Children in Bay State Still lack in Insurance

Roughly 12,000 children in Massachusetts still lack health insurance, giving the state a 99{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} coverage rate among its 1.39 million children, according to new data presented recently by the Mass. Budget and Policy Center.

That group is one of several organizations that took part in a ‘checkup’ gauging the status of programs and policies related to children’s health.

“Almost every single kid has health insurance,” Nancy Wagman, MassBudget’s Kids Count program director, said at the briefing, according to the Boston Globe, adding that while the 12,000 without coverage can be explained and a 99{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} rate is commendable, the gap needs to be closed.

“There is no child in Massachusetts who should be without insurance,” she said. “Let’s get that circle around every single one of those kids.”