By Marissa Hopkins
State lawmakers voted April 29 to reverse the elimination of KidsCare, Arizona’s Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides low or no-cost healthcare to children from families with a yearly income below $22,050 for a family of four.
Both the house and senate voted to direct $9 million to KidsCare, but Governor Jan Brewer still has to agree, said Matt Jewett, director of health policy for Children’s Action Alliance.
The threat of losing an estimated $7 billion from federal Medicaid funding pushed the Arizona State Legislature to reinstate KidsCare in a special legislative session, said Monica Coury, assistant director of governmental relations.
The state funds 24 percent of the program. The other 76 percent is federally funded, Jewett said. However, the state did not have the funds to pay its portion of the program, Coury said.
When the Legislature originally voted to eliminate KidsCare, the federal healthcare bill had not yet been passed, according to Coury.
After the federal bill passed, however, the elimination of KidsCare and another planned $385 million cut to the state’s Medicaid program violated requirements of the federal healthcare reform legislation.
The reform requires states to continue providing health care with the same levels of funding that were present when the legislation was signed.
The cuts would have prevented the state from receiving Medicaid money, Coury said.
KidsCare will still retain the enrollment freeze that was placed on the program at the beginning of the year, Jewett said.
Although waiting lists exist for those who apply, no new children are being accepted into the program. The freeze is expected to be indefinite, Coury said.
When the freeze first began, there were 47,000 children in KidsCare, Jewett said. Currently, the program supports 36,000 children.
It is estimated that by July that number will be down to 28,000 children, Jewett said.
By June of 2011, if the freeze is not removed, enrollment could be down to between 10,000 and 14,000 kids.
The Bring Back KidsCare Campaign encourages people to write letters to their legislators and the governor in support of the program to get the enrollment freeze removed.
“It’s uncharted area,” said Penelope Jacks, director of the Children’s Action Alliance of Southern Arizona. Arizona was the first and only state to attempt to eliminate the program.
Arizona is also the only state with a current enrollment freeze, Jewett said. Other states have done it in the past, but they have all been temporary.
“This is a good first step, but we believe that it needs to be reopened completely,” Jewett said. “We’re keeping up pressure.”
To help those who need health insurance, Children’s Action Alliance held a phone-a-thon April 29 for people to call for information about other low-cost health insurance options for adults and children, Jacks said. The event reached 3,000 people, Jewett said.
State lawmakers voted April 29 to reverse the elimination of KidsCare, Arizona’s Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides low or no-cost healthcare to children from families with a yearly income below $22,050 for a family of four.
Both the house and senate voted to direct $9 million to KidsCare, but Governor Jan Brewer still has to agree, said Matt Jewett, director of health policy for Children’s Action Alliance.
The threat of losing an estimated $7 billion from federal Medicaid funding pushed the Arizona State Legislature to reinstate KidsCare in a special legislative session, said Monica Coury, assistant director of governmental relations.
The state funds 24 percent of the program. The other 76 percent is federally funded, Jewett said. However, the state did not have the funds to pay its portion of the program, Coury said.
When the Legislature originally voted to eliminate KidsCare, the federal healthcare bill had not yet been passed, according to Coury. After the federal bill passed, however, the elimination of KidsCare and another planned $385 million cut to the state’s Medicaid program violated requirements of the federal healthcare reform legislation.
The reform requires states to continue providing health care with the same levels of funding that were present when the legislation was signed.
The cuts would have prevented the state from receiving Medicaid money, Coury said.KidsCare will still retain the enrollment freeze that was placed on the program at the beginning of the year, Jewett said.
Although waiting lists exist for those who apply, no new children are being accepted into the program. The freeze is expected to be indefinite, Coury said.
When the freeze first began, there were 47,000 children in KidsCare, Jewett said. Currently, the program supports 36,000 children.It is estimated that by July that number will be down to 28,000 children, Jewett said.
By June of 2011, if the freeze is not removed, enrollment could be down to between 10,000 and 14,000 kids.
The Bring Back KidsCare Campaign encourages people to write letters to their legislators and the governor in support of the program to get the enrollment freeze removed.
“It’s uncharted area,” said Penelope Jacks, director of the Children’s Action Alliance of Southern Arizona.
Arizona was the first and only state to attempt to eliminate the program.Arizona is also the only state with a current enrollment freeze, Jewett said. Other states have done it in the past, but they have all been temporary.
“This is a good first step, but we believe that it needs to be reopened completely,” Jewett said. “We’re keeping up pressure.”
To help those who need health insurance, Children’s Action Alliance held a phone-a-thon April 29 for people to call for information about other low-cost health insurance options for adults and children, Jacks said. The event reached 3,000 people, Jewett said.
Both the house and senate voted to direct $9 million to KidsCare, but Governor Jan Brewer still has to agree, said Matt Jewett, director of health policy for Children’s Action Alliance.