Sunday, May 30, 1999
Children's insurance program lauded
BY MARK CURNUTTE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A national report critical of policies affecting child welfare has singled out at least one program for praise: the Children's Health Insurance Pro gram (CHIP).
The annual Children's Defense Fund State of America's Children Yearbook is a respected big-picture roundup of child well-being issues nationwide. The 1999 edition, released this month, criticizes a number of policies it says contribute to child poverty, poor education performance and increased gun violence affecting children.
But the yearbook, in the area of child health, sounds some promising notes. The Children's Defense Fund (CDF), which works for legislative change affecting children and their families, points to the creation of CHIP as “good news.”
ELIGIBILITY
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Here are eligibility limits to enrolling children in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in Ohio. You are eligible based on the total number of people in your family and your monthly income before taxes.
One: $1,030
Two: $1,383
Three: $1,735
Four: $2,088
Five: $2,440
Six: $2,793
Seven: $3,145
Eight: $3,498
Nine: $3,850
Ten: $4,203
Information: 531-9999
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CHIP is a joint federal-state program that provides health insurance for people 18 and under in families earning up to 150 or 200 percent of the poverty level, depending on the state.
In Ohio, 130,000 children — most of them part of working poor families — are now covered by CHIP. In Hamilton, Butler, Clermont and Warren counties, that number is more than 11,000.
Eileen Cooper Reed, executive director of the CDF's Greater Cincinnati Project, said the Ohio program may expand and improve.
The Ohio House recently voted to increase eligibility for children in families earning from 150 percent to 200 percent of poverty.
The federal poverty level for a family of three is $13,650 a year and $16,450 for a family of four.
The Ohio House also voted to give CHIP $6.8 million next year and $24 million in 2001.
Child advocate organizations statewide are also pushing to reduce verification requirements and extend the re-enrollment time from six months to a year.
“These are working (people) who shouldn't have to re- enroll in six months,” Ms. Cooper Reed said. “Other working people don't have to.”
Among CHIP benefits are regular check-ups, eye exams and glasses and dental care.
In Kentucky, where legislators passed the KCHIP program in which children from families up to 200 percent of poverty would be eligible in a managed care arrangement, the Cabinet for Health Services recently had to alter its KCHIP plan because a managed care company could not be found.
Only two groups submitted bids, and the goal of providing KCHIP coverage statewide was too ambitious for the bidders, the state determined.
Instead, Cabinet Secretary John Morse said, Kentucky will expand Medicaid coverage for all children in families earning up to 150 percent of poverty. That program was scheduled to have begun July 1 but most likely will be pushed back until Oct. 1, said Jennifer Malas, Family Support Coordinator with the Covington Community Center.
“This has been a huge letdown,” Ms. Malas said. “KCHIP would have affected a lot of our working families.”
Medicaid in Kentucky now covers all children in families at 100 percent of poverty, pregnant women and children under age 1 in families earning up to 185 percent of poverty and pregnant women and children under 6 in families earning up to 133 percent of poverty.
Mr. Morse said earlier KCHIP expansion brought in 23,000 more children and that an additional 35,000 children will be eligible when Medicaid coverage is expanded to 150 percent of poverty.
An estimated 20,000 children 14-18 are not eligible in the 151-200 percent of poverty earnings bracket because of the change in the Kentucky program.
The District of Columbia and 48 states — including Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana — receive a total of $4 billion a year in federal matching funds for children's health insurance.
“This represents a significant national commitment and a historic bipartisan legislative achievement,” the CDF writes. “States participating in CHIP have great flexibility in how to implement the program.”
About 11 million children in America lack health insurance. Most are the children of poor working parents, who don't have health insurance on the job and cannot afford their own coverage, but who make too much to qualify for the Medicaid health program provided to those on welfare.
Federal officials think about 4 million of these children are eligible for Medicaid but are not enrolled. The states estimate their programs will cover about 2.5 million of the 11 million once plans are implemented.
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