1. Child Health Insurance Programs Pay Off Government-sponsored health insurance for low-income children boosts their access to care and improves their quality of life, a new study finds. Reporting in the September issue of Pediatrics, researchers at the Rand Corp. studied more than 3,400 California children, aged 2 to 16, who were newly enrolled in the Healthy Families public health insurance program. They found the children reported real improvements, such as feeling better physically, getting along better with their peers, and doing better in school. Enrollment in the program also led to a sharp decline in the number of children who went without needed health care. At the start of enrollment, about 16 percent of parents reported that their children had gone without needed health care within the previous year. That rate dropped to 7 percent by the second year of enrollment. "Having a health insurance card makes it easier to get health care when you need it and getting that care makes you feel better," study author Michael Seid, a Rand psychologist, said in a prepared statement. "We as a society have invested a lot of money to provide health insurance to kids, and there is still doubt about whether the money is well-spent. This shows the public and policy makers that the money is making a difference in kids' lives. It makes a tremendous and important difference to kids to get the health care they need," Seid said. The Rand Corp. is a nonprofit research organization. [Forbes.com, 7 September 2006] 2. Iowa Wants More Children to Receive Health Insurance Thousands of Iowa children eligible for public health insurance haven't signed up, state leaders said Wednesday. Most of Iowa's 50,000 uninsured children could be covered by Medicaid or Hawk-I, government health insurance programs for low- or moderate-income families. "We've made a difference, but we want to do more," said Mary Mincer Hansen, director of the Iowa Department of Public Health. Hansen and other leaders spoke Wednesday at a Des Moines news conference highlighted by the release of a report on insurance coverage among children. The report, published by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, found that 7 percent of Iowa children were uninsured in 2004, compared with 11 percent nationally. The report found that in 2004, 148,000 Iowa children had public health insurance, compared with 101,000 in 1998. The difference was mainly due to the introduction of Hawk-I, a public program that provides children's health insurance for free or for up to $20 per month per family, depending on income. Families of four making up to $40,000 annually can qualify for Hawk-I, Hansen said. Laurynda Northway, a Des Moines mother of three, said her family has been on Medicaid in the past and might go on it again soon. She's weighing whether to return to her Home Depot job just for the insurance. Her husband is a self-employed home builder who has no insurance. She said families might shy away from public programs because of worries that the process is too complicated. Gathering all the necessary information "has been intimidating," she said, but forms have been simplified, which should encourage more people to sign up. [The Des Moines Register, August 10] 3. Utah: Children's Health Insurance Enrollment Closed Health officials and advocates are encouraged parents with uninsured children to look into the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and sign up by September 1 if they meet the requirements. Prompted by rising health care costs and a limited budget, the Utah Department of Health closed enrollment for CHIP at 5 p.m. that day. All eligible children who applied before the deadline were accepted, officials say. "We originally expected to be able to enroll more children, but recent cost estimates dictate that we cap enrollment to stay within budget," said Nathan Checketts, director of the health department's Bureau of Access. Advocates launched a campaign urging parents to take advantage of the low-cost health insurance program before they were locked out. "There are some people who don't perceive a need because there isn't a catastrophe yet," said Jennifer Erickson, CHIP's public relations coordinator. "But health insurance is a preventive measure. Other people think they make too much money to qualify." A family of four that earns $40,000 or less would qualify. CHIP provides medical, dental and mental health services to Utah children 18 and under. Benefits include immunizations, regular checkups at the doctor's office, prescriptions and dental services. The cost to enroll is $25 or less every three months and requires small copayments for services. Utah's CHIP has been in operation since 1998.     CHIP's funding comes from the federal government and the state's Tobacco Settlement Account, created by the millions that flow to Utah from a lawsuit against tobacco makers. Officials originally wanted to enroll 40,000 children, but that may not be feasible now, Erickson said. CHIP enrollment has been open for the past thirteen months and has covered about 24,000 new children since July 2005. Current CHIP enrollment is 35,724. Once enrollment is closed, the numbers will fluctuate as children leave the program for private health insurance, move out of Utah, or for other reasons. In previous years, CHIP has remained closed for about seven to ten months between open enrollment periods. While the number of uninsured children nationwide is declining, in Utah it is rising, said Utah Children director Karen Crompton. Roughly 71,300 children here are uninsured. "Our message is without good health care, small problems become big problems," Crompton said. "Children who become ill and miss more than ten days of school a semester have a hard time keeping up." [Carey Hamilton, The Salt Lake Tribune, 10 August 2006] 4. Children's Health Insurance in Michigan There are thousands of children in Michigan who do not have health insurance, but most of those kids are eligible for free coverage that their parents may not know about. HealthFirst reporter Leslie LoBue says these programs (like MIChild in Michigan) have been around since the late 1990s, when Congress authorized them. More than 160,000 Michigan children will start the school year without coverage. "Health insurance is so expensive, I don't make a lot of money and I needed health care for my children," said parent Paul Garvin. "I wouldn't be able to afford the medicines that my son needs day in and day out. So I mean that's a life-threatening situation, you can't put a price on the lives of your children. "Even families with annual incomes of $40,000 are more may qualify for free or reduced cost health coverage for children, but some parents just don't know they have the option. "I think one of the most important messages that I want parents to take home is please find out about your local area or your state's publicly funded child health insurance program," said Dr. Robert Zarr, a pediatrician. [Leslie LoBue, WJRT Michigan, 9 August 2006]