Do more than 10,000 Maine children lack health insurance? | Fact brief

Nearly 11,900 Maine children lacked health insurance in 2023, the most recent year for which data is available.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Maine had the highest rate of uninsured kids in New England at 4.6%. Massachusetts had the lowest rate in the region — and the country — at 1.5%. Texas had the nation’s highest rate at 11.7%.

Maine’s child uninsured rate decreased by 1.9 percentage points from 2014 to 2023, according to an analysis by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a national nonprofit focused on child welfare and family well-being. Maine’s rate of uninsured children was 6.5% in 2014.

Within Maine, Knox County had the highest child uninsured rate at 6.6% in 2023, according to census data, while Cumberland County had the lowest rate at 3.4%. More rural areas of the state generally had higher rates of uninsured children.