AASA promotes health care coverage for all children - Brief Article

School Administrator, Sept, 2002

AASA recently sent a letter to all members providing valuable information about health care coverage for students. The following is a summary of the information in that letter. We believe it bears repeating, and hope you will take time to consider how you might use this information to benefit students in your district.

More than 8 million children in this country are without health care coverage, despite the fact that most of them are eligible for low-cost or free coverage right now through the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) or Medicaid. In most states, a family of four earning up to $36,000 a year may qualify for SCHIP or Medicaid coverage. But research shows that half of all parents with uninsured children eligible for SCHIP or Medicaid do not realize their kids may qualify.

You can be a part of the solution for uninsured school children in your district. It can be as simple as writing down a toll-free number-1-877-KIDS-NOW -- to pass on to parents in your community. Callers are connected to an operator in their state who can help answer questions and start the application process. You can have your teachers send home fliers with their students about low-cost and free health care coverage with school lunch applications or emergency notification cards. You could also write a letter to the editor of your local paper about the problem of the uninsured in your community; or invite the media to an outreach and enrollment event hosted by a school in your district. These are just a few of the ways that you can help connect children in your community with the health care coverage they need.

The Covering Kids Back-to-School 2002 Action Kit has all the tips and templates you need to reach out to families with uninsured children, the community and the media. The kit is available online. For links to the kit and other information about the Covering Kids coalition and outreach materials, such as fliers, posters and bookmarks available in English and Spanish, go to www.aasa.org and click on Issues and Insights then Children's Initiatives.