NC Insurance Coverage Gains For Kids, But Report Gives 'F' For Child Poverty

North Carolina is receiving high marks for the number of children with health insurance coverage. But a new study also raises some major concerns.

The annual report from the North Carolina Institute of Medicine and NC Child looks at health outcomes and wellness among kids.

The good news: the state received an A in the insurance coverage category. It found a record 96 percent of children statewide have health insurance.

Researchers say the increase is attributed to more access through public health programs, primarily Medicaid, NC Health Choice (the state's children's health insurance program) and the Affordable Care Act.

North Carolina also made progress in breastfeeding, immunizations and teen pregnancy rates.

But the state received a failing grade on economic security. And Laila Bell with NC Child says that can get in the way of good health.

“We see that more than half of our youngest kids in the state and half of kids of all ages are living in poor or near poor homes,” says Bell. “And to put that into context, it's been seven years since we've seen an F on the child report card, so this should be a significant call to action for our policy makers and our local communities to proactively address these poverty issues.”

Bell says communities can help change that by making more affordable housing available and providing more educational opportunities.

Another area where the state received low marks is birth outcomes. The report gives North Carolina a D. Bell says the grade is really a refelection of what has been flat infant mortality rates for the past few years. 

“We've made some progress over time, but that has stalled out and we no longer are seeing improvements in that indicator,” Bell says. “We lose 7.3 babies for every 1,000 babies who are born. That's higher than our lowest recorded infant mortality rate.”

She adds, “We see these persistent disparities between race and ethnicity. African American babies in North Carolina are more than twice as likely to die than white babies before their first birthday. The infant mortality disparity between black and white babies is essentially the same today as it was in the late '80s.”

Bell says ensuring quality healthcare for women before and during pregnancy will help improve birth outcomes in the state.

The data for the report was collected from state agencies and the U.S. Census Bureau.

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