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Governor Steve Beshear's Communications Office
Gov. Beshear Visits Rowan County Back-to-School Fair to Promote KCHIP
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Gov. Steve Beshear today visited a back-to-school fair for Rowan County students and their parents to spread the message about the importance of health coverage for Kentucky’s young people, encouraging those who qualify to apply for the Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program (KCHIP).
KCHIP provides free or low-cost health insurance for children. The program is for children younger than age 19 who do not have health insurance and whose family income is below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. For example, a family of four can earn up to $42,400 a year.
“I want all Kentuckians to live well and have the best possible quality of life, particularly our young people,” Gov. Beshear said to students, parents and educators gathered for a back-to-school event at the Carl D. Perkins Community Center in Morehead. “With the beginning of the school year right around the corner, this is an excellent time to make sure children have the health coverage they need to help keep them healthy this school year and beyond. KCHIP is a vital resource that can help families with that cost.”
Gov. Beshear and his staff have worked diligently to enroll more children in the KCHIP program as part of his ongoing efforts to sustain long-term health and wellness for Kentucky’s young people. The Beshear Plan has dramatically cut the number of children without health coverage by removing barriers to KCHIP and Medicaid enrollment.
As of the end of June 2010, 419,544 children were covered by Medicaid, which includes 59,899 children in KCHIP. Since the end of October 2008, the number of Medicaid-covered children has increased by 42,449, which includes an increase of 6,713 children in KCHIP.
“We believe this will lead to more children getting the health care they need early on, resulting in less illness, missed school days and expensive health care costs down the road,” said Gov. Beshear.
Gov. Beshear’s statewide initiative began in November 2008 with a simplified mail-in application, available online, and targeted outreach efforts. Efforts have included a focus on training community partners to assist with completion of applications; availability of enrollment materials at local health departments, Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) offices and Family Resource and Youth Services Centers (FRYSC); and outreach through health care providers, community action agencies, day care centers, faith-based organizations and many others. Approximately 250,000 mail-in applications, in both English and Spanish, have been distributed through these partnerships. In addition, CHFS has intensified efforts to re-enroll children who had previously been covered through the programs, including making policy changes to allow families an additional 30 days to return renewal information.
For more information, visit http://kidshealth.ky.gov.
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