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Wednesday, April 26, 2000
San Patricio County joins statewide effort to provide low-cost health insurance for children
By Michael Hines
Caller-Times
PORTLAND - For Melissa Woofter, 34, a new health insurance program will mean not having to choose between paying for help watching after her 2-year-old or paying rent.
Woofter works at Ear, Nose and Throat Associates of Corpus Christi, where she said health insurance costs about $200 per month. With daycare also costing about $200, paying for both would mean sacrifices elsewhere.
"If I paid out for all that, it doesn't leave much money for rent and other necessities," the Portland resident said. She said the new federally funded, state run program eliminates that fear.
County and state officials started San Patricio's participation in the Children's Health Insurance Plan Tuesday morning. The effort is part of a statewide push to insure at least 400,000 of the state's 1.4 million uninsured children.
An estimated 38,000 children are uninsured in the Corpus Christi area, and about 6,000 uninsured children live in San Patricio. With the CHIP program, however, even families who have children with pre-existing medical conditions are covered.
The TexCare Partnership, the Austin-based program that administers the CHIP program, has formed partnerships with Texas' 254 counties. The goal is to enroll families in one of three health insurance plans: the CHIP, Medicaid or the Texas Healthy Kids Corp. program. County Judge Josephine Miller said those programs are vital.
"It's been a long time coming," she said. "We don't need to live in a country where parents are so scared that they can't take their children to get health care."
The Community Action Corp. of South Texas will distribute program applications and information to schools, parents and communities throughout 11 South Texas counties, including Nueces, Aransas, Bee, Live Oak and Refugio. U.S. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa, D-Mercedes, also plans to send out letters to all the San Patricio school districts for students to take home. County Department of Health clinics in Mathis, Ingleside and Sinton will offer both the applications and help in filling them out. Applications also will be available in all school districts and eventually in most doctors' offices. Every doctor in the county will be eligible to join the group, and Driscoll Health Plan will help enroll physicians in the area.
Families with children younger than 19 must make up to twice as much as the federal poverty level to qualify. For a family of four, that net income would be about $34,000. Families would have to pay co-payments for some services, including $2-$10 dollars for physician visits, $5-$35 for emergency room visits, and $1-$10 for prescriptions. Coverage will begin May 1.
Families earning between 100 and 185 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $17,000 for a family of four, will be referred to the Medicaid program, which offers free health coverage.
Families can also qualify for the Texas Healthy Kids Corp., a non-profit insurance pool, for children ages 2 to 17. The child must have been uninsured for at least 90 days, enrolled in school and a Texas resident for the past six months.
Staff writer Michael Hines can be reached at 886-3758 or by e-mail at hinesm@caller.com
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