FIGURE 3–2 U.S. children’s insurance coverage for immunizations. SOURCES: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey estimates of those Medicaid-eligible and enrolled, and SCHIP-eligible (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 1996); SCHIP enrollment (Health Care Financing Administration, 1999b); U.S. Bureau of the Census 1998 population estimates; private insurance coverage for immunizations (KPMG Peat Marwick, 1998).

entitled to vaccine coverage as a matter of federal law.¹⁹ Thus as of 1999, federal policies allowed for the potential coverage of roughly 30 million children for immunization services.

SCHIP enrollment had reached a total of almost 2 million children by September 30, 1999, double the number covered in the first full year of the program, calendar year 1998 (Health Care Financing Administration [HCFA], 1999b). States have streamlined applications for SCHIP and increased outreach efforts. An additional 600,000 to 1.1 million children are eligible for SCHIP but not covered, according to projections based on the