(File Photo of Clipboard with a Children’s Health Insurance Program)

(Reported by Danielle Smith of Keystone News Service)

(Harrisburg, PA) Tens of thousands of children in Pennsylvania are still missing out on essential health-care coverage, according to a new report. The “State of Children’s Health” report reveals Pennsylvania has the fifth-number of uninsured children in the nation. Becky Ludwick with Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children says factors like race, where you live and family income play big roles in whether kids have health insurance. And while the number of uninsured kids has stayed relatively steady, a stable uninsured rate doesn’t signal that there’s been progress. In Pennsylvania, younger children are more likely to be uninsured than school-aged children. Ludwick adds one possible solution is the Department of Human Services’ recent federal approval of continuous Medicaid coverage for kids up to age six.