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Community, Business Leaders Announce Restoration of the Children's Health Insurance Program, Launch Campaign to Enroll Kids in Health Care Coverage

Posted on: Thursday, 4 August 2005, 15:01 CDT

HOUSTON, Aug. 4 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Children's Defense Fund of Texas, the Gulf Coast CHIP Coalition and local business and civic leaders announced the restoration of the Texas Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and unveiled a month-long campaign to enroll children in health coverage.

Dental, vision, hospice and mental health benefits have been restored to the CHIP benefits package, premiums have been reduced and will be more convenient for families to pay, and additional funds have been allocated to increase enrollment. Restorations begin taking effect on September 1, 2005. Over 180,000 Texas children lost CHIP in the last two years, more than 29,000 in Harris County.

A new analysis of U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data was also released and revealed that more than 40 percent (41.6 percent) of uninsured children in Texas went without medical care for an entire year. Conversely, 88.6 percent of their insured counterparts received care during the same period. Uninsured children in Texas were nine times more likely not to receive needed medical care, compared to insured Texas children.

The research also showed that, nationally, more than seven in 10 uninsured children are eligible for low-cost or free health care coverage through Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), but are not enrolled. There are over 1.3 million uninsured children in Texas. Many are eligible for CHIP or Children's Medicaid, which provide low-cost or free health care coverage for uninsured Texas children.

The Children's Defense Fund of Texas and the Gulf Coast CHIP Coalition, with the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Covering Kids and Families Initiative, today kicked off a series of local events that will take place in Houston and across the state to enroll eligible uninsured children in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Children's Medicaid. Houston is one of six cities in the United States selected by the Foundation for an enhanced outreach campaign targeting families with uninsured children.

"It is disturbing to know that children are not receiving the health care they need. They're even missing out on annual checkups that will prevent them from developing more serious medical conditions down the road," said State Rep. Garnet F. Coleman. "We owe it to the parents of these children to let them know that coverage is available for many uninsured children."

Harris County Judge Robert Eckels stated, "CHIP is a good deal for Texas and for local taxpayers. Texas receives $2.65 in federal matching funds for every $1 invested in CHIP and $1.56 for every $1 invested in Medicaid. Children without health insurance often come to city or county health clinics or emergency rooms for care, at a staggering cost to local taxpayers."

More than 100 outreach events are planned across Houston during August to enroll eligible children in CHIP and Children's Medicaid.

-- McDonald's Restaurants is holding a city-wide enrollment drive at 40 restaurants on Saturday, August 6 and has distributed CHIP trayliners in over 260 area restaurants.

-- Fiesta Mart, Inc. will host the 13th city-wide children's health insurance drive at 28 stores in Saturday, August 20. 12 previous campaigns have assisted 8,313 families and 17,214 children in applying for health coverage.

-- Clear Channel Outdoor, Harris County Judge Robert Eckels and McDonald's Restaurants are putting up 63 billboards in neighborhoods with high numbers of uninsured children.

Dan Wolterman, president and chief executive officer of Memorial Hermann Healthcare System and Chairman of the Health Care Advisory Committee of the Greater Houston Partnership noted the rising cost of healthcare premiums for families and local businesses. "Small businesses and employers are feeling the squeeze of rising healthcare costs. Recent figures indicate that insurance premiums for most businesses increased between 15 percent and 20 percent in 2004, and according to a new survey, employers expect premiums to increase another 12.9 percent on average, in 2005."

Doug Adcock, president of the Board, McDonald's Operator Association of Greater Houston stated, "McDonald's is deeply committed to ensuring that children in working families have access to affordable health insurance. We know that parents work hard to provide for their children and want to do our part to make sure that children grow up strong, smart and healthy. With affordable children's health insurance, families will have one less thing to worry about."

"Going Without: America's Uninsured Children" was released this week by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as part of the Covering Kids & Families Back-to-School Campaign, a nationwide effort to enroll eligible children in public health care coverage programs during the back-to-school season. The research was prepared by analysts at the State Health Access Data Assistance Center, located at the University of Minnesota, and the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C. Additional findings include:

-- The number of uninsured children is decreasing nationally. Although the overall number of uninsured Americans has increased since 1998, the number of uninsured children in America has decreased by nearly 2 million, largely due to enrollment in public programs.

-- Uninsured kids in Texas do not have a regular doctor or nurse. More than eight out of 10 (84.1 percent) insured children in Texas report that they have someone they consider their personal doctor or nurse, compared with less than half (45.7 percent) of uninsured children.

-- Uninsured Hispanic children are less likely to receive medical care than uninsured white children. Nationally, more than 40 percent (41.4 percent) of uninsured Hispanic children went without any medical care during the year, compared to just a quarter (25.7 percent) of uninsured white children.

The report analyzes data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, including the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health and the 2003 National Health Interview Survey.

"All of Texas' children deserve affordable health care coverage. Yet every day Texas families with uninsured children are unnecessarily forced to make hard choices in caring for their kids," said Barbara Best, Texas executive director of the Children's Defense Fund and chair of the Gulf Coast CHIP Coalition. "These sacrifices have far-reaching consequences for the 1.3 million Texas children who lack health insurance. Fortunately, many children in Texas are eligible for coverage through CHIP and Children's Medicaid. With this campaign, we hope to inform more parents that CHIP and Children's Medicaid can help them improve their children's health and quality of life."

CHIP and Children's Medicaid provide comprehensive medical care, including regular checkups and immunizations, hospital care, surgery, x-rays, prescription drugs, dental care, vision, mental health care and emergency services. Parents of uninsured children can call toll-free 1-800-647-6558 to find out if their children are eligible for low-cost or free health care coverage. A family of four earning up to $38,000 a year or more may qualify.

To view the research report (including state-level data), locate Covering Kids & Families activities or download materials in English or Spanish, log on to http://www.coveringkidsandfamilies.org.

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The mission of the Children's Defense Fund is to Leave No Child Behind and to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities. Children's Defense Fund of Texas offices in Houston, Austin and the Rio Grande Valley work to ensure every child a Healthy Start in life and access to affordable health coverage. For more information, visit http://www.childrensdefense.org.

The Gulf Coast CHIP Coalition represents 650 members across a 16 county area and works to ensure that all of the region's children have access to affordable health care.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 30 years, the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. By helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in our lifetime. For more information, visit http:// www.rwjf.org.

http://www.usnewswire.com

Source: U.S. Newswire

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