A new survey shows more than 50-thousand Iowa children are not covered by health insurance. The report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation also shows that many uninsured children are eligible for Medicaid or Iowa’s HAWK-I programs but have not enrolled.
Pam Dickson, deputy director of the health care group at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, says her organization issued the report because they want to help low-income parents sign up for government-paid insurance for their kids.
“Because children who have health insurance can work better and be more productive in school,” Dixon says. “We want them to start off that school year healthy.” According to the report, uninsured children are twice as likely not to receive any medical care in a given year compared to kids with insurance. In 1997 the federal government launched an effort to get low-income children signed up for government-paid health care insurance.
In Iowa the program is known as HAWK-I — Healthy and Well Kids in Iowa. Dixon says in Iowa and nationwide, the effort has been a success. “There is great news. We have actually seen the number of uninsured children be reduced by two million since 1997,” she says.
But Dixon says it’s still sobering to realize 50-thousand Iowa children are not covered by any insurance. “The 50,000 children who are uninsured in Iowa — most of them are eligible for these programs,” Dixon says. To find out if your child is eligible, call 1-877-KIDS-NOW. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation also website about its “Covering Kids and Families” campaign. The address is www.coveringkidsandfamilies.org.
Related web sites:
Report on uninsured kids