State covers kids’ health costs

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, August 10, 2006

EDMONDS – Her husband had lost his job, and the family’s monthly health insurance costs had just jumped from $800 to $1,000.

“We just couldn’t, there was no way,” Celia Kerr said of the prospects of paying for coverage for herself, her husband and their three children. “We were looking at our children having to go without medical insurance.”

That’s when a flier arrived in the mail outlining a state health insurance program for kids in low- and moderate-income families.

“It is a huge, huge blessing for our family,” Kerr said of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

A statewide push is now under way to let more families know that they’re eligible for the program. An estimated 115,000 children remain uninsured in Washington, many of whom are eligible for low-cost or free health insurance, according to the nonprofit Washington Health Foundation, based in Seattle.

Income guidelines are designed to take in more working families than some other social service programs. A family of two parents with two children can make up to $4,167 a month and still qualify, according to the state Department of Social and Health Services.

“If you meet the income eligibility standards, you (can be) covered by the program,” said Jim Stevenson, agency spokesman.

There is a monthly premium of $15 per child with a premium cap of $45 no matter how many children are covered. The state pays one-third of the costs of the federal-state program, he said.

In some cases, parents may not meet the stricter income guidelines for Medicaid’s health-care coverage, what Stevenson called “the poorest of the poor of adults of working age.”

Yet their kids may qualify for help under the state’s children’s health insurance program, he said.

“This was the answer to our crisis,” Kerr said.

Kerr said her husband, Christopher, previously worked for one company for 23 years and the family had medical coverage.

“We had no idea there was anything like this,” she said.

Her husband, who is a music teacher, has just been hired by the Ocosta School District in Westport to teach middle school and high school students. Celia Kerr works several part-time jobs to help make ends meet, including working as a substitute teaching assistant, a singer and a musician.

“I don’t think it’s fair that our children should suffer for adults having employment problems,” she said. “That’s the way our medical coverage is. It’s tied to your job.”

The state health insurance program for children provides a safety net for families that couldn’t otherwise afford it, she said.

“There are many families, I think, that just don’t realize this may be available for them.”

To find out whether your child qualifies for a program that provides health insurance for Washington children, call 877-KIDS-NOW. Families must meet income guidelines. The cost is $15 per month per child with a maximum of $45 per family.