• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Health Program Helping More La. Children Blanco Lauds Success Initiative

Posted on: Friday, 26 August 2005, 18:00 CDT

Gov. Kathleen Blanco took a victory lap at Westdale Middle School on Thursday to celebrate a two-thirds increase in the number of children who have found their way onto public health insurance rolls since she took office. A year and a half ago, 77,000 children were eligible but not enrolled in Medicaid or Louisiana Children's Health Insurance Program for the working poor.

Blanco wanted to cut that number in half. She got her wish and then some.

Since January 2004, 53,000 youths under the age of 19 have enrolled for public-funded health care in Louisiana.

That's good news because children with health care are more likely to visit a pediatrician and stay up to date on their immunizations, she said.

Nine other states now have more children without health insurance, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation of Princeton, N.J., a private foundation focusing on health-care issues.

"One basic way to care for our children is to look after their health," Blanco said

The Blanco administration chose Westdale as the backdrop for the announcement because the school has a health clinic.

Blanco toured the clinic before having students escort her to the school library for a news conference. A bevy of reporters and state officials trailed her through the school tour.

The state Department of Health and Hospitals is trying to close the gap in the number of children eligible but not enrolled in free health care by publicizing the LaCHIP program at school clinics, churches and community centers.

LaCHIP provides health-care coverage for children from low to moderate income families. It's geared toward parents who work but can't afford health-care insurance for their children.

Rebecca Smalley of Independence was there to put a face on the program.

Smalley brought a photo of her family, plunking it down on the podium when it was her turn to talk.

Smalley's 6-year-old stepdaughter, Madison, and 4-year-old son, Samuel, are enrolled in LaCHIP. Both children wear eyeglasses.

Finding out Madison needed glasses was stressful, Smalley said, because neither she nor her husband had jobs that offered affordable insurance.

LaCHIP turned out to be the solution, covering the cost of eye appointments and glasses.

Smalley said it was easy to enroll in the program but difficult to admit they needed to do so.

"Pride is also an issue," she said.

"You don't want to ask for help."

Ruth Kennedy, director of LaCHIP, said the state's strides toward enrolling more children in the program are working.

In 1998, 22 percent of children in Louisiana were uninsured. By 2003, that number had dropped to 11 percent.

Kennedy said she believes the number of children uninsured in the state is now in the single digits. LSU is releasing a study in October with concrete numbers.

Kennedy said her office has focused on outreach and simplifying the application process.

One problem, she said, is LaCHIP participants have to renew their coverage every 12 months.

The program was losing more out the back door than were coming in through the front door, she said.

The state's now asking for less information, using Department of Social Services information to check for eligibility and renewing by phone instead of requiring people to sign and mail in a form.

The next step, she said, is to allow people to submit paperwork over the Internet.

LaCHIP Insurance

La CHIP is no-cost health insurance for children younger than 19. To find out if you're eligible:

Call (877) 252-2447

On the Web, go to http://www.lachip.org/

Pickup applications at health clinics, schools and other locations

Source: Advocate; Baton Rouge, La.

More News in this Category