The Annie E. Casey Foundation
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Maine

Statistics on children, youth and families in Maine from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Maine Children's Alliance

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Maine Children's Alliance

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Low income children under age 19 without health insurance in Maine

Low income children under age 19 without health insurance

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Why This Indicator Matters

Having health insurance is important for individual families for several reasons. Uninsured people receive less medical care and less timely care, they have worse health outcomes, and lack of insurance is a fiscal burden for them and their families. Children with incomes below 200% of poverty are eligible for MaineCare in Maine. See: Health.gov Improving health by raising rates of health insurance coverage

What the data shows
For 2021, the rate of uninsured among children living in low-income families in Maine was 5.6%, down from 8.1% in 2020 and 7.8% in 2021.  There were approximately 4,777 children who were uninsured and living in low-income families in Maine in 2021, nearly 2,000 fewer than in 2020 when 6,630 children in low-income households lacked insurance. 

Comparing Maine to other states, in 2021, 19 states had lower rates of uninsured children.

The rate of uninsured low-income children varies by counties. In 2021, Hancock, Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties all had rates of uninsured low-income children above 7%. with Hancock being the highest at 8.3%.  My contrast, Somerset, Oxford, and Androscoggin counties had the lowest rates, varying between 4.3% to 4.6%
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Definition and Source

PROVIDER

Definition

Children under age 19 who were not covered by health insurance at any point during the year and whose family income was less than 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). The numerator is children ages 0 to 18 who are low income and did not have health insurance at some point in time and the denominator is all children in families at or below 200% of the poverty line. The 2021 federal poverty threshold was $26,500 for a family of two adults and two children, so a family of four earning less than $53,000 was considered low income.

Data Source

Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE) for counties 
 And choose the age group under age 19 and the income under 200% of poverty.

The U.S. Census Bureau’s Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE) program produces single-year estimates for all counties and states by detailed demographic and income groups. The estimates use a model which combines survey data from several sources, including: the American Community Survey (ACS), demographic population estimates, aggregated federal tax returns, participation records for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), program, county Business Patterns, Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) participation records

Last Updated

August 2023