Definition: Percentage of children ages 0-18 enrolled in Medicaid and/or CHIP at some point during the federal fiscal year (e.g., in the 2021 federal fiscal year, 45% of California children were enrolled in Medicaid).
Data Source: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Statistical Enrollment Data System, Annual Enrollment Reports; California Dept. of Finance, Population Estimates and Projections; U.S. Census Bureau, Population and Housing Unit Estimates (Mar. 2025).
Footnote: Children enrolled in more than one program or in the same program at more than one point in the year are counted only once. Data reflect the funding source through which a child last had coverage in the year. Medicaid is a federal program providing health coverage to eligible low-income children and families; Medi-Cal is California's Medicaid program. CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) is a federal program providing coverage to children up to age 19 in families with incomes too high to qualify them for Medicaid but too low to afford private coverage. California's CHIP program was called the Healthy Families Program (HFP). Although California continues to receive CHIP funding, in 2013 HFP enrollees were transitioned into Medi-Cal. The notation S refers to that data that have been suppressed because they are not comparable. Data for 2014 and later years may be estimates.
