Beshear Does the Right Thing

Never let it be said I didn't give the cowardly waste of oxygen credit when he earned it.

In state after state - and in the nation's capitol - Democratic office-holders are responding to an economic crisis in dire need of massive government spending by slashing the very programs that are our only hope of recovery.

But Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear saw the children of working parents going without health care and realized that denying them insurance coverage was a false economy.

Families in the Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program (KCHIP), which offers free or low-cost health insurance to eligible children, will no longer have to pay monthly premiums to ensure coverage for their child, Gov. Steve Beshear announced today.

Previously, some KCHIP families were required to pay a $20 monthly premium to receive KCHIP coverage for their children. Gov. Beshear recommended and the Kentucky General Assembly approved suspending the monthly charge after determining it served as a deterrent to enrollment and caused some children to drop out of the program because of the burden of paying premiums.

“In these tough economic times, we’re doing everything we can to make sure children have access to quality health care,” said Gov. Beshear. “By eliminating the monthly premiums for KCHIP, we will be able to prevent children from leaving the program due to cost, and children will continue to have access to care throughout their youth.”

Previously, KCHIP families whose income was over 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Level paid the premium. Suspending the premiums affects approximately 12,200 families and over 16,000 children.

The federal poverty level for a family of four is $20,000. It's pretty cheap to live in Kentucky, but you can't support four people and buy health insurance for $30,000, even here. Twenty dollars a month is significant.

The effort is part of ongoing work by Gov. Beshear and his staff to increase the number of children in Kentucky with health insurance. This has included diligent work to enroll more children in the KCHIP program by removing barriers to KCHIP and Medicaid enrollment.

As of the end of June 2010, 419,544 children were covered by Medicaid, including 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.

“Good health is the building block to thriving in youth, achieving academically and socially and sustaining quality of life,” said Gov. Beshear. “At the same time, quality health coverage is absolutely vital to establishing good health.”

Gov. Beshear’s statewide initiative began in November 2008 with a simplified mail-in KCHIP 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 Kids Health.

Meanwhile, premium payments made by KCHIP members to cover July or any month after July will be refunded as soon as possible. Members with questions about premium payments are encouraged to call (800) 635-2570.

KCHIP covers dental, medical, vision, hearing, hospitalizations and many other medical services.

Helping working people in hard economic times is a winning campaign formula. Are you listening, Jack Conway?