Definition: Estimated percentage of children and young adults ages 0-20 with Medicaid, CHIP, or other means-tested public health insurance coverage at the time of survey, by age group (e.g., in 2019, 41.7% of California children ages 6-17 had means-tested public health insurance coverage).
Data Source: Population Reference Bureau, analysis of U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey public use microdata (Oct. 2020).
Footnote: Medicare and other non-means-tested public health insurance programs (e.g., Dept. of Defense TRICARE, Indian Health Service) are not included in these estimates. Means testing considers financial circumstances in determining eligibility. 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. Estimates exclude children and youth in institutional group quarters and those in the active-duty military. These estimates are based on a survey of the population and are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error.
