Health insurance coverage of low-income rural children increases and is more continuous following CHIP implementation

Key Findings: Prior to CHIP, low-income rural and urban children had comparable rates of public coverage and uninsurance, including chronic (a year or more) uninsurance; By the time CHIP was fully implemented, uninsured rates had declined so much among low-income rural children that they were lower than among urban children; In addition to lower uninsured rates in a given month, low-income rural children experienced dramatic increases in the continuity of their health insurance coverage following CHIP. Controlling for child and family characteristics, low-income rural children have more continuous coverage post-CHIP than do their urban counterparts