KCHIP Enrollment Swells

A total of 1,154 children were enrolled in KCHIP during the first quarter of 2009, the United Way of Kentucky announced.
 
Thanks to the partnership that was forged between Gov. Steve Beshear, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and the United Way, more Kentucky children have been granted access to regular health care that might not have had it before—and the number continues to grow.

KCHIP provides health coverage at little or no cost to uninsured children under the age of 19 living in households at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level – about $42,400 a year for a family of four. Gov. Beshear’s KCHIP enrollment initiative launched last November has a goal to enroll 35,000 children in KCHIP by fiscal year 2010 by simplifying the enrollment and renewal processes and significantly increasing public education and outreach regarding the program.

New applications and renewal forms, found online at www.kidshealth.ky.gov or by calling (877) KCHIP-18, can be mailed to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services—eliminating the need for an appointment at a local Department for Community Based Services office.

As a KCHIP enrollment initiative partner, United Way became a conduit for KCHIP information, removing application barriers at the local level by providing KCHIP information to 2-1-1 call centers, funded agencies, health care providers, social workers and other community partners. Through 22 local United Way organizations across Kentucky, the volume of information available is cast with a wider net in hopes that more and more families can find the coverage they need for children without health insurance.