The number of uninsured children and those who depend on government-sponsored programs is growing, according to a new report.
Although 93 percent of Wisconsin’s children have some form of health coverage, most is through government-subsidized programs like BadgerCare and Medicaid, according to the study by the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families.
Those two programs now cover roughly one in four children, and reliance on them has increased from 15 percent in 1997 to 25 percent in 2003.
About 7 percent of children throughout Wisconsin have no health insurance. From 1997 to 2003, the number grew from 85,000 to 91,000. Much of the increase in the number of uninsured children is attributed to loss of insurance through parents’ employer-sponsored programs.
The report cited lack of access to services such as primary care, dental care and mental health care as having an impact on the quality of children’s health. Eighty-five areas in Wisconsin – including Marathon County and parts of Lincoln County – have been designated as areas with shortages of primary health care providers.
Wisconsin has 68 regions with a shortage of mental health professionals and 50 with a shortage of dental care providers.
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