• Arkansas: The Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families last week announced plans to launch a statewide three-year effort to increase enrollment in ARKids First by about 22,000 children, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports. ARKids First is the state’s version of SCHIP. According to the group, as many as 70,000 children, or 11% of all children statewide, are uninsured, and about 44,000 of the state’s children are eligible but not enrolled in the program. The enrollment initiative is part of the Finish Line Project, which will provide Arkansas with $675,000 over three years and will generate about $264,000 in matching federal funds, according to AACF Director Rich Huddleston. The project will be funded by grants from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. In addition, the group plans to work with lawmakers and the state Department of Human Services to increase income eligibility requirements for ARKids to children in families with incomes up to 300% of the federal poverty level from 200% of the poverty level (Park, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 5/25).
• New Jersey: As many as 35,000 New Jersey children enrolled in SCHIP could be left without health coverage over the next five years if stricter eligibility requirements proposed by the Bush administration go into effect, according to a recent report by the New Jersey Policy Perspective, the Newark Star-Ledger reports. The SCHIP program has been funded by Congress through March 2009; however, under the new rules, which are scheduled to take effect in August, the federal government would not provide payments to states for SCHIP coverage of children in families with incomes greater than 250% of the poverty level. More than 128,000 children and 80,000 low-income parents are enrolled in the state’s version of SCHIP, called NJ FamilyCare; however, new income eligibility requirements could force many out of the program, according to the report. The report states, %26quot;The change would be especially painful in New Jersey, where the cost of living is among the highest in the country,%26quot; adding, %26quot;The effects would drastically reduce health coverage for one of the most vulnerable segments of society: New Jersey’s children.%26quot; The report also found that the rules could cost the state $215 million in funding and could lead to a loss of $486 million in business activity and 3,600 jobs in the state (Hepp, Newark Star-Ledger, 5/23).

Reprintedwith permission from kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, and sign upfor email delivery at kaisernetwork.org/email . The Kaiser Daily Health PolicyReport is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J.Kaiser Family Foundation. 2007 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser FamilyFoundation. All rights reserved.

By: kaisernetwork.org – Fri, 05/30/2008 – 15:20

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF), a Little Rock-based nonprofit, is setting out to reach an estimated 44,000 uninsured children who are currently eligible for but not enrolled in ARKids First, through a planned three-year outreach program.

Health policy experts warn the initiative will not make a significant difference in the number of uninsured individuals in the state.

Part of National Effort

AACF’s enrollment initiative is part of the Finish Line Project, a national program funded by a $15 million grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, an organization advocating for single-payer “universal” youth health care among other issues. The grants will provide AACF with $675,000 over three years and will generate about $264,000 in matching federal funds, according to AACF Director Rich Huddleston.

Six other states–Colorado, Iowa, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, and Washington–are taking part in the Finish Line Project.

“States are leading the charge to cover America’s uninsured children, and with effective leadership from committed policymakers, advocates, and community leaders, they can finish the job and cover every child,” said Carol S. Larson, president and CEO of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

‘Awareness’ Not the Problem

Policy experts say the program is nothing new and will have little, if any, impact.

“It may work around the edges, but the problem with these [SCHIP] programs is not a lack of awareness,” said Greg Scandlen, director of Consumers for Health Care Choices at The Heartland Institute. “It’s just not received well by the people it’s supposed to help. Efforts like these have been tried before.”

Although advocates acknowledge the program is unlikely to achieve 100 percent enrollment in the ARKids First program, members of the organization crusading for the effort say it could have an everlasting, positive impact on the state as a whole.

“Every child deserves access to quality health care in order to grow up stronger, be ready to learn, and be prepared to contribute to their communities,” said Tara Manthey, communications director for AACF. “ARKids First, which was created during the administration of Republican Governor Mike Huckabee, and is now strongly supported by Democratic Governor Mike Beebe, is vital to helping low-income Arkansas children get access to health care.”

“Getting children the health care they need is essential to moving our state forward,” said Huddleston. “Kids that are healthy do better in school and go on to be more productive citizens, which will mean a stronger, more competitive workforce for Arkansas.”

Previous Health Insurance Programs Failed

Scandlen says Arkansas should change strategies if it hopes to make a positive impact on the state’s health care and insurance market as a whole.

“The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation tried to boost enrollment in SCHIP by paying for ads on pizza boxes and paying churches and community organizations to tell people about it and get them signed up,” said Scandlen. “It didn’t work very well.

“Arkansas should learn from the experiences of other states,” Scandlen concluded. “They basically need to realize that it’s very hard to get people enrolled in programs that aren’t working a lick because you can’t find a doctor who will accept the plan.”

Aricka Flowers (atflowers@hotmail.com) writes from Illinois.

By: Heartland Institute – Tue, 08/12/2008 – 16:51