Where are the nation's uninsured kids? Everywhere

For a checkup of the nation's healthcare as a whole, perhaps we should look to its children. In the U.S., one in nine of them are uninsured, a new report says, with most coming from working families. Using Census Bureau data, the nonprofit organization Families USA has released a state-by-state look at uninsured children in the U.S. The report represents three years of data -- 2005, 2006 and 2007 -- and thus doesn't take into account the recent economic tremors, the authors point out. California alone has more than 1.2 million uninsured kids (12.5% of the state's total), making it No. 2 in the nation for sheer numbers. It's behind only Texas, with 1.4 million uninsured kids (20.5% of its total). Here's the full report . And here's a Times package looking at the compromises three families have made for health insurance: On the cutoff's cusp: Hard choices on healthcare Even with employer's coverage, a family worries For one mother, pay gains mean an insurance loss -- ... (link)