Report: State going backward in insuring children

Ten years ago, Arkansas was a national leader in the percentage of children in the state who had health insurance, but since then, the state has been consistently losing ground.

That is according to a report from Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families that says the rate of uninsured children is the highest it has been since 2016.

And conditions are expected to get worse.

“The progress covering Arkansas’s children and families has been trending in the wrong direction since 2016,” said Camille Richoux, Arkansas Advocates’ health policy director and author of the report. “At the same time, families are facing a rapidly changing healthcare landscape. The passage of H.R. 1 and the largest cuts to Medicaid in the program’s history are expected to create new instability across the health system, with ripple effects that will impact children and families for years to come.”

H.R. 1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, was passed in 2025 without a single vote from a Democrat in the House or Senate. The bill ushered in sweeping tax cuts for businesses and wealthy individuals and reductions in spending on healthcare and nutrition. All four of Arkansas’ U.S. representatives and both senators voted for the bill. 

The report, titled “A Moving Finish Line: Action Needed as Children’s Uninsured Rates Rise Again,” looks at how the state fared the previous year. 

Key takeaways from this year’s report include:

• Arkansas’s child uninsured rate remains at its highest level in more than a decade
• ARKids First continues to be the foundation of children’s coverage in Arkansas
• Children in low-income working families face the greatest risk of being uninsured
• Hispanic, immigrant, and non-English-speaking children continue to face major barriers to coverage
• Access to health coverage remains deeply tied to income, education, and employment for adults
• Women of childbearing age continue to experience significant coverage disparities
• H.R. 1 is expected to create new barriers to coverage and care for Arkansas families

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families is a statewide, nonprofit child advocacy organization established in 1977.