State to Get $1 Million for Kids Without Health Coverage

By WY Daily Staff Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Local programs like SHIP - the School Health Initiative Program in WJCC schools - help uninsured local students.

Governor Tim Kaine announced Wednesday that the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services will receive $1 million in funding to help get more kids enrolled in health insurance plans if they are currently going without.

Virginia currently has a Medicaid program for eligible children, FAMIS and FAMIS Plus, but there are still children in the state – and the Historic Triangle – who are without any health coverage.

WJCC schools, in partnership with the Williamsburg Community Health Foundation, launched the School Health Initiative Project, in part to address the issue of uninsured kids in the local school system.

According to the SHIP website, there were over 200 WJCC students without medical insurance in 2005. In Virginia, it is projected that there are more than 120,000 eligible children not enrolled in the available health insurance programs.

Virginia was one of eight states selected for the four-year grant, “Maximizing Enrollment for Kids.” Program leaders say DMAS was selected because Virginia has demonstrated a strong commitment to increasing children’s enrollment in health insurance, even in the face of difficult economic times.

The program is being launched as states prepare to receive more federal support for their enrollment efforts from Congress’s recent extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

It comes also on the heels of the recent Kaiser Commission report on "Challenges of Providing Health Coverage for Children and Parents in a Recession." That report, released at the end of January, found that after states adopted their 2008 budgets, "the severity of the unfolding fiscal crisis became clearer...states face mounting pressure to cut Medicaid and SCHIP just as the need for coverage rises due to climbing unemployment and loss of health coverage."

The governor took note of the federal support's timing.

“This is great news for Virginia’s families, especially during these difficult times when many are losing their health insurance, leaving their children uninsured,” Governor Kaine said. “Many families may need this bridge until they can afford health insurance again for their children. With the support of this grant, DMAS will be able to focus resources on retaining eligible children in our health insurance programs and on identifying new opportunities for maximizing enrollment.”