Hidden Costs of Senate Health Care Bill: Uninsured Kids Do Worse in School More Likely to Drop Out

“In the years since Obamacare’s passage in 2010, the number of American children without insurance has sunk rapidly. Some were enrolled in beefed-up Medicaid programs, but others gained coverage through the newly established state exchanges. If the funding for both of those initiatives is eliminated by congressional Republicans, the Urban Institute predicts, some 4.4 million kids could lose coverage by 2019. Leaving aside the public health costs of such a development, the academic footprint could be enormous. A wealth of research suggests that access to early medical care through insurance programs like Medicaid leads to better academic and life outcomes down the line. One 2014 paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that increasing childhood eligibility for Medicaid could decrease the risk of dropping out of high school by as much as 6 percent, and increase the likelihood of college completion by 3 percent.”