another 314,000 uninsured children may be eligible for Medi-Cal benefits
based on their income, but are not enrolled.
  • Only 57% of children in families with incomes below the federal poverty
    level are covered by Medi-Cal.
  • Medi-Cal coverage is highest among African-American (38%) and
    Latino children (37%), somewhat lower for Asian
    children (23%), and lowest among white children (13%).
Concentrations Of Uninsured Children And Those Enrolled In Medi-Cal Are Highest In The South And Metro Service Planning Areas (SPAs) And The South and Central Health Districts.6
  • An estimated one-third of children living in the South (33%) and Metro (32%) SPAs are uninsured.
  • The South (45%) and Metro (46%) SPAs also have the highest percentage of children covered by Medi-Cal.
  • The South health district has the highest estimated percentage of uninsured children (46%), almost twice the percent in the county as a whole. In contrast, Pomona (15%), Bellflower (14%), and Whittier (13%) health districts have the lowest uninsured rates.
  • Of the twenty-six health districts in Los Angeles County, those with the highest percentage of children covered by Medi-Cal include the Southeast (56%) and Northeast (51%) health districts. The West (16%), Pomona (15%), Torrance (15%), and Whittier (13%) health districts have the lowest percentage of children covered by Medi-Cal (see Table 2).
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Low-Income And Latino Children Are Least Likely To Have Job-Based Coverage.

Children are less likely than adults to have private coverage, which contributes to the high uninsured rate for children in Los Angeles County. Overall, only 44% of children in Los Angeles County are insured privately: 1.16 million are covered through employment (their own, in the case of some older adolescents, or more commonly, as a dependent on their parents' or guardians' health
TABLE 1.
Health Insurance Status Of Children (under 18)
By Race And Ethnicity, 1997.

 

Private

 White African American Latino Asian Other All Children
77% 48% 31% 57% 77% 44%
Medi-Cal 13% 38% 37% 23% 9% 31%
Uninsured 10% 14% 33% 20% 13% 25%
Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding.
6. While the confidence intervals for these estimates are wide, they represent the best available data at the SPA and health district level.

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