By Christa Marshall – Colorado has one of the highest rates of uninsured children in the country, according to a new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The Rocky Mountain State ranked 43rd in the report among U.S. states, with almost 15 percent of its 18-and-under population without health coverage.

The report comes as Congress debates how to fund the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, which provides insurance to poor children ineligible for Medicaid. According to federal statistics, as many as 1.5 million children could lose coverage in the next decade unless Congress increases its $5 billion annual contribution to the program.

“In reauthorizing SCHIP, Congress must provide the funds needed to maintain coverage for all currently enrolled kids and the millions more who are eligible, but remain unenrolled,” said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president of the Foundation.

In Colorado, more than 40,000 children were enrolled in the program last year, but 57,000 additional children did not enroll even though eligible, according to the Colorado Children’s Campaign.

The report also said that families earning less than $40,000 a year increasingly are losing health insurance via their employers, placing additional pressure on SCHIP.

Colorado was one of several Western states that fared poorly in the survey. Arizona, Montana, Nevada and New Mexico all ranked near the bottom of U.S. states, with uninsurance rates for children in the high teens.

On a rosier note, Vermont and New Hampshire had the lowest rates, at 5.6 and 6 percent.

Read the full report here
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States with the highest percentage of uninsured children, age 18 and under

Texas 20.3

Florida 16.9

New Mexico 16.6

Nevada 16.4

Montana 16.2

Arizona 15.9

Oklahoma 15.9

Colorado 14.3

Source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation