Twenty-six states expanded access to health coverage for low-income children, parents or pregnant women in 2009, according to a survey released today by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. Children were the chief beneficiaries of the expansions, with 19 states improving access to coverage for children by increasing eligibility, simplifying procedures and eliminating premiums. "The renewal of [the Children's Health Insurance Program] and the fiscal relief and eligibility and enrollment protections for Medicaid in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act proved critical to enable states to continue their commitment to providing coverage to millions of low-income families," said KCMU Executive Director Diane Rowland. "However, even with signs of economic recovery, state revenues are still mired in a severe slump and, faced with the end of enhanced federal money after 2010, fiscal shortfalls are likely to cause states to consider significant cuts to Medicaid and CHIP."