State health program reaches few ill youngsters
A Medicaid director cites a need to spread the word about the program in Ohio.
COLUMBUS (AP) — A health insurance program meant to help middle-income families who have youngsters with serious illnesses needs to be reworked to reach more people, officials said.
Gov. Ted Strickland signed an executive order in April creating the Children’s Buy-In Program. Since then, four children have qualified and two have been enrolled.
Ohio set aside $12.5 million for 2008 and 2009, anticipating coverage for as many as 5,000 children by June. About 215,000 Ohio children have no health insurance, with about 12 percent from families with incomes too high to qualify for federally funded programs.
Medicaid Director John Corlett said the state received applications for 335 children, but most families didn’t have enough income to qualify. Corlett said the word needs to get out about the program in Ohio.
The program’s monthly premiums, which can exceed a car payment, might be too much for some families.
Families must pay between $250 and $500 a month per child, depending on the family income. Children also have to be without insurance for six months before they can qualify.
“That’s not realistic for a chronically sick child,” said Mary Wachtel, director of health policy for the advocacy group Voices for Ohio’s Children.
Still, the program is important for families struggling in a tough economy, she said. “We know in these challenging economic times, folks are dealing with precarious family budgets,” she said.
The program also has co-payments and deductibles, increasing the cost for participating families.
A family might be unable to get conventional coverage because the child has a pre-existing condition or a chronic illness that has exhausted lifetime benefits, Corlett said. Medically disabled children also qualify.
Strickland believes the program is important because it provides access to needed health care coverage for children who otherwise wouldn’t have health insurance, said spokesman Keith Dailey.
“Of course, we hope participation will increase as word continues to spread about the program, but we also understand that any new program takes time to get established,” Dailey said.
He said many children were instead matched with Medicaid programs through use of the hundreds of applications received.
At Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, Dr. Leona Cuttler said Monday that social workers have been briefed about the program and which families might be eligible.
Cuttler, who directs the hospital’s Center for Child Health and Policy, said the program would benefit from greater public awareness and case workers who try to alert families of children nearing lifetime maximum benefits.
Overall, enrollment in buy-in programs across the United States has been relatively low because of high premiums, according to the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute.
The Ohio program’s applications started to creep up during the fall after the state held training programs and seminars, Corlett said. The state also could take a closer look at what changes may be necessary, he said.
“We’re just going to have to figure out what we’re going to do here. But I do think there is a great need out there for this program,” Corlett said.