According to a report released Nov. 25 by Families USA, the number of American children without health insurance has declined about 6 percent last year. The report found 8.6 million children lacked health coverage in 2007. The decrease in the number of people without health insurance was attributed to the programmes of government-sponsored health insurance, such as Medicaid, or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

The majority of these children come from families where at least one parent works and more than two-thirds of uninsured children live in households where at least one family member works full-time, year round, the study found.

Using U.S. Census Bureau data reflecting the three-year period 2005-2007, the non-partisan organization representing healthcare consumers has revealed that about half a million children gained health insurance between 2006 and 2007. At the same time, the number of children living in poverty increased by 500,000 to 13.3 million.

Massachusetts had the lowest rate of uninsured children in the country - just 4.6 percent - between 2005 and 2007, based on three years of Census data. Texas, California, Florida, New York and Georgia have high rates of uninsured children, together accounting for nearly half of all uninsured children, the report found.

The study found that more than 1 million children had no coverage for the entire year. They suggest that the employer-based model may need to be revised. The private health insurance has become more and more expensive and other reports have shown that as the health care costs continue to grow, fewer employees are able to offer insurance benefits.

Advocates of the State Children Health Insurance Program say that a short-term solution would be to expand coverage beyond certain children in low- and moderate-income families. A first step would be the reauthorization and expansion of SCHIP, the federal program that gives states money to provide health insurance for more children.