The logo of a nurse holding a child hangs on a wall outside the Boston Children's Hospital, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
The number of uninsured kids in Nebraska is on the rise. Advocates for children say a lack of coverage can lead to lower levels of basic care and more serious mental health or medical issues in the future.

Nebraska ranks right in the middle of the states in terms of the number of children with no health insurance. Based on U.S. Census data, Nebraska’s child uninsured rate rose from 3.7% in 2023 to 5.3% in 2024.

Sara Howard, policy advisor with the advocacy group First Five Nebraska, called the increase significant.

“In Nebraska, on the ground,” said Howard, “that means in 2023 we had about 23,000 kids who were uninsured and now, in 2024, in the data from 2024, we now have 27,000 kids who are uninsured.”

Howard said this is the highest rate of uninsured children in Nebraska since 2019, just before the pandemic. She added that missing preventive checkups and necessary medical and mental health care can lead to kids falling behind in school.

Georgetown Center for Children and Families’ Executive Director Joan Alker said the hike in uninsured kids is at least partly due to changing Medicaid eligibility rules at the federal level, a so-called “unwinding,” which left many more kids without coverage.

“We were very worried about eligible children being dis-enrolled by mistake during this unwinding process,” said Alker, “especially in states that did not approach the process with the utmost care.”

Nationally, the child uninsured rate rose from 5.1% to 6%, the highest spike in a decade.