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By WalletHub
Keeping children healthy is both essential and costly. Fortunately, about 94% of children ages 0 to 18 have health insurance coverage to protect them when they become ill. However, high coverage rates have not necessarily reduced health care expenses for families.
On average,
workers contribute $6,850 per year toward employer-sponsored family
health coverage. While some families receive assistance through Medicaid or
the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), many who do not
qualify for government support continue to face financial strain especially
amid significant inflation.
Cost, however, is not the only factor influencing children’s health care. The quality of the health care system and environmental conditions such as access to nutritious food and fluoridated water also play significant roles.
Because conditions vary widely by location, WalletHub
analyzed the 50 states and the District of Columbia using 33 key indicators
related to the cost, quality, and access to children’s health care. The data
set includes measures ranging from the percentage of children ages 0 to 17 in
excellent or very good health to the number of pediatricians and family doctors
per capita.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island is the second-best state for children’s health care, and only 6.5% of residents have trouble paying their children’s medical bills, the second-lowest rate in the country.
That’s due in part to the fact
that Rhode Island has the sixth-lowest percentage of children who are
uninsured. The Ocean State also has the second-highest number of children’s
hospitals per capita and the eighth-lowest out-of-pocket costs for children’s
health care.
Most importantly, Rhode Island has one of the lowest death rates for children under age 14, and one major contributing factor to that statistic is the fact that parents vaccinate their children at high rates.
Over 80% of children 19-35 months old have the combined 7-vaccine series, which protects against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliovirus, measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis b, Haemophilus influenzae type b, varicella, and pneumococcal infections, according to the CDC.
