Brittney Petersen is a project manager for the Colorado Community Health Network.
Apparently, the storm clouds of the economy come with a silver lining for Colorado kids. Data from two new reports shows the number of uninsured children in Colorado shrank from 171,000 to 135,000 between 2008 and 2009 – a decline of 36,000 kids.
According to analysis from the Colorado Children's Campaign's "2011 Kids Count in Colorado!" report, some of Colorado's largest counties experienced a significant drop in the number of uninsured children.
Meanwhile, the Colorado Health Institute estimates that 86,847 uninsured children in Colorado were eligible for (but not enrolled) in Medicaid or Child Health Plan Plus in 2009. That's down from 2008 estimates that showed 109,000 children were eligible but not enrolled in either program.
Though a souring economy probably contributed to the growing enrollment numbers, progress on covering uninsured kids is attributable to several other factors. Among them: expanded outreach and enrollment efforts, increased awareness of Colorado's Medicaid program and CHP+.
In May 2010, Colorado expanded Medicaid coverage to parents with incomes between 60-100 percent of the federal poverty level. It also extended coverage to children and pregnant women with incomes between 206-250 percent of the federal poverty level.
Additionally, a $1 million State Health Access Program grant helped 23 organizations enroll and retain newly qualified recipients.
But despite these positive developments, it's also likely that the bad economy contributed to more children obtaining coverage. That's because more kids became eligible for the programs due to loss of family income. Still, the downward shift in uninsured children indicates that statewide efforts to cover all kids are on track. The Colorado All Kids Covered initiative has shared this good news with legislators, funders and other key partners.
Moving forward, we plan to use this data to encourage our community and state partners to keep up the good work and continue to support and implement policies that simplify enrollment and retention for families.
There are several new policies in the works that should decrease the number of uninsured kids even more. Those plans include electronic interfaces to help kids and families meet documentation requirements, administrative renewals and launching an online application.
In the meantime, Colorado All Kids Covered will continue to work in partnership with our state leaders to ensure that these policies are implemented to maximize the benefit for Colorado and its citizens.
How can Coloradans further reduce the number of uninsured kids in the state? Post your thoughts in the comment box below. Please note that comments will be open for two weeks from the initial post date. Follow the Foundation's work on Facebook and Twitter.
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