COLUMBUS, Ohio -- An annual report on child well-being in Ohio underscores the need for specific action to repair the damage caused by the pandemic.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count Data Book found 18% of Ohio kids lived in poverty in 2019, compared with 23% in 2010.

Alison Paxson, communications and policy associate for the Children's Defense Fund-Ohio, noted those gains could be erased as many households struggled to make ends meet over the past year.

"We will be feeling this for our state economy for years to come and for generations to come," Paxson predicted. "So we really have to make sure that our policies right now are looking at the long term; that they're visionary, bold and deliberate; and that they're prioritizing the recovery of hard-hit communities."

The latest U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey estimated 23% of adults in Ohio reported difficulty in paying for usual household expenses.

Overall, the Kids Count Data Book ranks Ohio 31st in child well-being. Other areas of improvement include children living in high-poverty areas, children without health insurance and children whose parents lack secure employment.

The report recommends the recovery of hard-hit communities of color be prioritized in the recovery, and income supports that help families be expanded.

Leslie Boissiere, vice president of external affairs for the Foundation, noted under the American Rescue Plan, the Child Tax Credit was increased and restructured to put money in the hands of low-income families as early as next month.

"For families with children under the age of six, it's $300 a month that those families will be receiving," Boissiere observed. "So, at a time when families are concerned with being able to pay their mortgage, or to pay their rent or to provide food for their families, it's a significant amount"

Census data revealed during the pandemic, Black families in Ohio struggled more than white families to pay housing costs and put food on the table.

Paxson emphasized it's crucial post-pandemic resources are targeted appropriately and equitably.

"This has significant implications for today in ensuring that children and families have enough to eat when they're hungry, have health care when they're sick and have access to safe, decent and affordable shelter, to keep them safe," Paxson outlined. "And it also poses huge consequences for our future."

Even before COVID-19 disrupted education, nearly one in five Ohio children were not graduating on time, and last fall nearly half of Ohio families where at least one person planned to pursue higher education canceled their plans or reduced their class load.

More than 300,000 children have been dropped from Medicaid and Peach Care for kids since the pandemic ended.

A report from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families pinpoints a nationwide trend: More than 4 million kids were left uninsured, soon after the COVID public-health emergency ended.

Georgia ranks third-highest for the number of children who have lost coverage.

Judy Fitzgerald, executive director of Voices for Georgia's Children, said many lost coverage because of procedural reasons rather than eligibility.

"They're not ineligible, but there was missing or incomplete paperwork, or what we know from families is, they felt like they didn't receive the notification, they didn't know," she said. "And so, there are a large number of children who are still eligible."

Fitzgerald said the repercussions of disenrollment can be dire, as when children can't get timely access to health-care services, they're more vulnerable to illnesses and developmental delays. The report also found parents with access to employer-sponsored health plans can't always afford the cost of adding their dependents.

While parents face higher income requirements for Medicaid, many children who lost coverage during the pandemic are still eligible. Fitzgerald said Voices for Georgia's Children is advocating for ways to increase enrollment for children, including a more simplified enrollment process and assistance from state agencies to expedite screening.

"So, we're asking the state to expand the kinds of organizations that could screen kids for eligibility, and enroll them in coverage temporarily while the state processes an official enrollment," she added, "and this is something called presumptive eligibility."

She said programs such as SNAP, and information through the Department of Labor, could be used to facilitate renewals. For families who don't qualify, she said, alternative coverage options are available through the insurance marketplace. Navigators through Georgians for a Healthy Future can help find them.

The Medicaid and Nevada Check Up programs had more than 13,000 fewer children enrolled last year than during the pandemic, according to new research from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families.

States have been reexamining Medicaid benefits since the pandemic ended, and disenrolling families based on their head-of-household's eligibility. Carissa Pearce, health policy manager for the Children's Advocacy Alliance, said this means some children were also dropped from coverage who are still eligible.

As a result, she said, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told states to stop disenrolling and ensure they were looking at individual eligibility.

"Meaning that children would be screened separately from their parents, and that was a really important change," Pearce explained. "Specifically in Nevada, every person who had been disenrolled up to that point in August and September of 2023 were reinstated for their coverage, so that they could fix their system and then proceed with disenrollments."

Pearce said Nevada didn't start disenrolling children again until January of this year, giving families more time to check the requirements and submit the documentation to keep their coverage. But from January to February, about 1,500 Nevada children were dropped. She said it's important for families to see if their child is eligible for Nevada Check Up or consider a state marketplace insurance program at nevadahealthlink.com.

Tara Raines, deputy director of the Children's Advocacy Alliance, said her message to families is to not avoid medical appointments if they suspect their child may not be covered. She said there are other programs that families can be directed to, and thinks the state could do more to reach and inform families.

"I think a campaign that lets people know, 'Hey, you were disenrolled from Medicaid, here are your options,' would be incredibly helpful," she said, "and I don't know if that looks like partnering with school districts."

Raines said families' living conditions and circumstances vary in the Silver State. This could mean some may not have a permanent address, but should not mean they go without health coverage.


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More than one million children in Texas no longer have health insurance through Medicaid, despite being eligible for coverage, according to a new report from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, states were not allowed to cancel coverage - then last year, state health departments were tasked with rechecking the eligibility of Medicaid recipients.

Brittney Taylor-Ross, senior policy analyst with the advocacy group Every Texan, said despite the option to slowly complete the task, Texas chose to do it in one year's time.

"We didn't take up a lot of the flexibilities that were offered, so that was a state choice at the leadership level. We also chose to go through this unwinding process pretty quickly. Other states have paused their process when they've seen that things don't look right," Taylor-Ross said.

The report shows Texas has disenrolled more children than any other state. Anyone who lost coverage must reapply. Taylor-Ross said as of April, the median amount of time to process a new Medicaid application is 95 days. Federal law requires this number to be 45 days or less.

Most families don't realize they no longer have coverage until they go to the doctor's office.

Joan Alker, research professor, McCourt School of Public Policy, and executive director, Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, said the problem affects not only families, but the pediatricians and clinics that treat them.

"Kids are going to miss out on those well-child visits, they're going to miss out on getting the medications they need - be it an inhaler for their asthma or an ADHD medication. And that really sets them back, both in their health and their success in school," she said.

Because of the unwinding, more than 4 million fewer children are enrolled in Medicaid. One out of four of those children lives in Texas.