Georgetown study says half of Arkansas children in rural counties covered by Medicaid or CHIP

by Steve Brawner ([email protected]) 5,505 views 

More than half of the Arkansas children living in rural counties were covered by Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in 2023, a new study has found, ranking the state sixth in that percentage. Two counties, Phillips and Lee, were among the nation’s top 20 rural counties in terms of having the highest percentage of rural children covered by the programs.

The study by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families found that those programs covered 50.5% of Arkansas children living in small towns and rural areas, defined as counties with no urban areas with more than 50,000 people. In metro areas, 45% of Arkansas children were covered by those programs in 2023.

The state’s 50.5% of covered children in rural counties was the nation’s sixth highest percentage. New Mexico was first at 59.9% followed by Louisiana (57.7%), Arizona (55.9%), Florida (51.9%), and South Carolina (51.1%).

The six were the only states where more than half of the children in rural counties were covered by the programs. The national average was 40.6%%, compared to 38.2% of children in metro areas.

Among Arkansas’ rural counties, Phillips County had the nation’s 16th highest percentage of children relying on those programs at 62.9%. Lee County was 20th at 62.4%. Arkansas did not have a top 20 rural county in its share of non-elderly adults or senior citizens served by Medicaid.

Arkansas’ 39.5% was the nation’s seventh highest percentage of residents living in counties classified as small town/rural. According to the study, 1,193,000 Arkansans live in those areas. Fifty-eight counties were considered to be rural or small town. The study considered the following counties to be “metro”: Pulaski, Faulkner, Saline, Perry, Grant, Lonoke, Garland, Benton, Washington, Madison, Sebastian, Crawford, Craighead, Poinsett, Crittenden, Miler and Little River counties.

Medicaid is a federal-state partnership that provides health coverage for lower-income children. It also funds services for people with disabilities and for adults living in nursing homes. CHIP provides low-cost health coverage for children in families earning too much money to qualify for Medicaid.

Overall, 27.7% of rural and small town Arkansans were covered by Medicaid or CHIP in 2023, compared to 24.4% of metro Arkansans.

Phillips County had the highest percentage of overall residents relying on Medicaid or CHIP at 39.9%. Neighboring counties along the Mississippi River were the next highest ranking counties. St. Francis County was second at 36% followed by Chicot County at 35.8%, Lee County at 35.7%, and Desha County at 34.6%.

Among the state’s largest metro counties, 27.3% of Pulaski County residents relied on Medicaid or CHIP, as did 26.2% of Sebastian County residents. The figures were 23.8% in Faulkner County, 22.2% in Washington County, 21.1% in Saline County, and 18.8% in Benton County.

At 22%, Arkansas had the 10th highest percentage of non-elderly adults in rural counties covered by Medicaid. Arizona was first at 35.9%. In comparison, 18.4% of metro Arkansans in that age group relied on Medicaid for their health coverage.

Nationally, 18.3% of non-elderly adults in rural counties were covered by Medicaid, compared to 16.3% of metro adults. Arkansas had the 17th highest percentage of senior citizens in rural counties covered by Medicaid at 16.8%. In metro areas, it was 14.2%. Across the country, more seniors in metro areas (17%) relied on Medicaid than those in rural areas (15.8%).

The report noted that one-fifth of Americans live in non-urban areas where they often face challenges accessing health care, generally have worse health outcomes, have lower average incomes and have less access to employer-sponsored health insurance. The report noted that 120 rural hospitals in the past 10 years have closed or ceased offering inpatient services. In 2022, 52% of rural hospitals and 36% of urban hospitals no longer operated maternity wards.

In a press release, Camille Richoux, health policy director at Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, said, “Rural communities form the backbone of Arkansas, and Medicaid plays a critical role in ensuring access to health care for these communities. We know Congress is considering enormous funding cuts to Medicaid in the year ahead, and this new report confirms how disastrous this would be for our rural communities and small towns. Arkansas relies on federal Medicaid funding to thrive.”

Data for the report came from the Census Bureau’s 2023 and 2022 American Community Surveys.