Cincinnati’s Goal is to Sign Up Kids for Medicaid

March 17, 2010

The Legal Ai d Society of Greater Cincinnati Monday kicked off its campaign to enroll uninsured children and teens in Ohio’s Medicaid program.

The "Covering Kids and Families" campaign aims to enroll 1,800 eligible children and teens in nine Southwest Ohio counties, including Butler, Clermont, Hamilton and Warren counties, in Medicaid. There are an estimated 18,000 uninsured children and teens in the nine-county area.

Expanding coverage for kids and teens is a health-care issue most lawmakers can agree on, speakers said Monday.

"Despite all of the debate going on about health-care, despite all of the disagreements, this is something we can all fully support," said U.S. Rep. Steve Driehaus, D- Price Hill.

Many uninsured families aren’t aware their children are eligible for Medicaid coverage, said Trey Daly, senior attorney with Legal Aid.

But children in families of four who earn more than $44,000 annually qualify for Medicaid if their families are uninsured, he said.

Last year, Legal Aid received a two-year, $316,418 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to pay for the enrollment effort.

Legal Aid’s campaign will focus on groups who are hard to reach, Daly said, including Hispanics, children in families of mixed immigration status and homeless children and teens.

The campaign coincides with efforts recently announced by Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland to enroll 77,000 uninsured but eligible Ohio children and teens in Medicaid over the next five years.

The state is rolling out several new strategies to get those children signed up, said D ouglas Lumpkin, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, including:

"Express Lane" eligibility, which lets children who qualify for other programs, including free lunch programs, automatically qualify for Medicaid.

12-month continuous eligibility, which lets children remain eligible for a full year, rather than requiring them to re-enroll whenever their family’s circumstances change.

Presumptive eligibility, which allows agencies to enroll children immediately on a temporary basis while Job and Family Services makes a final decision.

Legal Aid will also work with schools, health departments and federally qualified health centers to reach out to eligible children and teens.

"Accessing quality healthcare is vital for student achievement," said Mary Ronan, superintendent of Cincinnati Public Schools. "It’s very, very difficult for children to learn when they don’t feel well."

Studies have shown that children without health insurance miss more school than children with coverage, she said.

Lawmakers can expand coverage to programs like Medicaid, but it’s important for agencies like Legal Aid to help families sign up, said State Rep. Bill Seitz, R-Green Twp.

"If we don’t reach the people who are eligible for coverage, then all the grand policies pronouncements that are made in Washington and Columbus count for nothing," he said.