Education Campaigns

[Background] [Goals] [Audiences][Campaign Activities] [Materials] [Resources] [Information]

Health Check / NC Health Choice for Children Campaign
Child Health Care Access and Child Health Insurance

ELIGIBILITY UPDATE !!!!!

Background

• Approximately 8.5 million children in the United States currently have no health insurance coverage. (Source: March 2001 Current Population Survey Data - US Census Bureau)

• The national Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) allows eligible children to enroll in health insurance programs, provides funding to states, and enables states to design their own program and benefits package.

• In October 1998 North Carolina initiated its CHIP program, NC Health Choice for Children, which covers children up to 200% of the federal poverty level who are not eligible for Health Check (Medicaid).
  

Health Check (Medicaid) provides free health insurance to children from birth through age 20 for those families who qualify for the program. The program is funded by the federal government, the State of North Carolina, and North Carolina county governments.

NC Health Choice for Children (Child Health Insurance Program - CHIP) provides free or low-cost health insurance to children from birth through age 18 for those families who qualify for the program, are unable to afford private insurance, and who do not qualify for Medicaid. The program is funded by the federal government and the State of North Carolina.

• Before October 1998 approximately 139,000 children in North Carolina were uninsured but eligible for one of two state health insurance programs. Of these:
  • 68,000 were estimated to be eligible for Health Check
• 71,000 were eligible for NC Health Choice
• During the program’s first year (October 1998 – September 1999) 57,300 children were enrolled in NC Health Choice.

• Many of the eligible families are working families with some job-related income.

• North Carolina ranks among the top states that have reduced the number of children without health insurance.

North Carolina's child health insurance program began on October 1, 1998. In its first few years, the numbers of children enrolled surpassed all expectations. The state allocation for this program was raised. The program will increase to an annual average of 82,000 children participating.

It is the commitment of the state that any child enrolled in NC Health Choice who re-enrolls by their re-enrollment deadline will not be cut off from services. If program enrollments continue to grow as fast as they have in the past and exceed current estimates, the state will stop new enrollments until it can keep its commitment. Services to enrolled children will not change.

Click on Health Check / NC Health Choice for Children Programs to learn more about these programs.

Goals

• To increase awareness and participation in the two state child health insurance programs: Health Check and NC Health Choice for Children.

• To ensure that families, once enrolled in either program, continue to re-enroll their eligible children each year.

• To educate families about the importance of preventive care and having a medical home for their children.

Audiences

The Campaign targets parents, grandparents, and other family members; pediatric hospital staff, medical care providers, and other health care professionals; social service providers and others working with families with children and adolescents; school staff, child-care providers, and after-school care providers; the business sector, including worksite health-promotion program managers, human resource directors, and personnel directors; religious and other community-based organizations.

Campaign Activities

Media strategies include the development and distribution of print materials, TV advertisements, radio commercials, and locally sponsored initiatives.

Educational Materials

North Carolina residents may receive single copies of the campaign materials, including fact sheets and Application forms, by calling the NC Family Health Resource Line at 1-800-367-2229.

Materials, including the application forms, are available in English and Spanish. Fact sheets provide information about the programs including information about eligibility, costs, and benefits.

Application forms (in English or Spanish) can also be downloaded at North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Medical Assistance web site. From that site, click on Application then select an English or a Spanish application.

Families can also obtain an application form (in English and Spanish) from:

• Any local health department.
• Any local social services department.

To get complete ordering instructions and more detailed information about how to order single copies and bulk copies of Educational Materials, click on Educational Materials.

Order Educational Materials
Click on Order Form.

Resources
National

The Access Project (617-654-9911) – assists local communities in developing and sustaining efforts that improve health care access and promote universal coverage, with a focus on the uninsured.

Children’s Defense Fund – national organization dedicated to child well being. Site includes information about national outreach campaigns for insuring children. Provides links to all state Child Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) and toll-free state numbers.

Covenant with North Carolina's Children – a coalition advancing public policy to benefit children in North Carolina.

Families USA – The Medicaid Clearinghouse archives and distributes reports from national organizations that focus on access issues, insurance enrollment, and outreach. Serves as a resource for information about immigration issues related to Medicaid and the Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Health Care Financing Administration – provides detailed information on state plans, legislation, regulations, enrollment reports, related White House and department information, and outreach.

Insure Kids Now – national outreach effort to enroll children in state child health insurance programs. Features audio and video messages in English and Spanish.

Kaiser Family Foundation – conducts research; provides statistics and analysis of health care issues for policy makers, the media, the health care community, and the general public. Supports a commission dedicated to issues about Medicaid and the uninsured.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation – sponsors Covering Kids, a national health access initiative for low-income, uninsured children. Provides grants that focus on outreach, simplification, and coordination related to Child Health Insurance Programs (CHIP).

Request Information About This Education Campaign

To access the Educational Materials Order Form:

Send Electronically

1. Click here to access the on-line version.
   
   
2. Complete the form online.
   
   
3. Send the form electronically to the Foundation by clicking on the Submit form button on the bottom of the last page.

Send Fax or Mail:

1. Click here to view a .PDF file version onscreen.*
   
   
2. Print out the form and fill it in.
   
   
3. Fax it to the North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation at
   919-828-1446 or mail to 1300 St. Mary's Street, Suite 204, Raleigh, NC 27605.

*Viewing .PDF files requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Click here to download it.

For a child to be eligible for free or low-cost health insurance:

• Family’s annual income must meet the income level requirements. (See Income Table below.)
• Child/children must currently have no health insurance coverage and have been without health insurance for at least the past two months.
• Child/children must meet age-level requirements.
• Child/children must have a Social Security number.

Eligible families can apply for both the Health Check and NC Health Choice for Children programs at the same time by doing one of the following:

• Applying in person at their local health department.
• Applying in person at their local social services department.
• Mailing a completed application and the required documentation to their local social services department.

Applications are available in English and Spanish. All applications must include proof of the family’s wage information (for one month) and the Social Security number of the child/children.

Self-employed

Self-employed individuals who receive their income at least monthly, need to submit business records for the previous 6 months, or for the number of months in business if less than 6 months. Individuals who receive their self-employment income annually (or less often than monthly) need to submit business records for the previous 12 months.

On-Line Application

To download an Application Form and Instructions (English or Spanish), click on North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Medical Assistance web site. From that site, click on Application then select an English or a Spanish application.

Services

Eligible children receive coverage for a wide range of medical services including:

• Well Child Check-ups
• Sick Visits
• Immunizations
• Prescription Medicines
• Dental Care
• Hospital Care
• Specialists
• Surgery
• Therapy
• Hearing Care
• Vision Care, including eyeglasses
• Counseling
• Additional benefits for children with special heath care needs.
  
  NOTES
  For more information about services for children with special needs, call the Children With Special Health Care Needs Help Line at 800-737-3028.
  
  For more information about benefits, call Blue Cross Blue Shield (800-422-4658).
  
  To access booklets on both of these subjects go to the NC Department of Health and Human Services, NC Division of Medical Assistance website.
  
  • Look on the left-hand side of the page.
  • Click on Children's Health Insurance.
  • Text will appear in the right-hand column.
    
    (Adobe Acrobat is required to view these files.You can download it from the DMA website by clicking on the section of the page that says Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
    
    
    • To access the "Children With Special Needs Booklet" from the DMA website:
      
      • Scroll down to the section entitled "Other Useful NCHC Information"
      • Click on Children with Special Needs Booklet.
        
        
    • To access a benefits booklet from the DMA website:
      
      • Scroll down to the section entitled "Other Useful NCHC Information"
      • Click on NCHC Handbook.
        

Cost

The cost is based on family income. Therefore, some families receive services at no cost; other families pay an annual fee ranging from $50 per child up to a maximum of $100 per family (with 2 or more children).

For families who pay fees, there are small co-payments for visits to a health care provider and for prescription medicines. NOTE: This policy was changed by SEHP/BCBS as a cost containment effort. Copayments apply to all provider visits, not just doctors (for example: physical, occupational, speech therapists, etc.).

No family pays for well-child care visits, check-ups, and immunizations.

Resources
North Carolina

Local coalitions – To reach a coalition in a specific county, contact Carolyn Sexton at the NC Division of Public Health, 919-733-4173.

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Medical Assistance – information on the development of N.C.’s child health insurance plan/other background papers. An application form in English or Spanish can be downloaded from the DMA website. Click on Application and select your language preference.

[Background] [Goals] [Audiences] [Campaign Activities] [Materials] [Resources] [Information]