QUEST Is Best Eligible children and youths in households with income below 300% FPL can now get free comprehensive QUEST and Medicaid health insurance! 2008 income limits are available from these web site pages: 1. Information about QUEST and Medicaid Fee-for-Service programs for children and youths is in Our Community section, 2. Hawaii Covering Kids: Revised flyers in 20 languages can be downloaded from the Hot Happenings section, and 3. Form 1134 is in the Library of Forms section. Read our news article to help people recently laid off: “Unemployed urged to get kids on QUEST” in The Honolulu Star-Bulletin, April 18, 2008. Keiki Care Update HMSA is now enrolling eligible children and youths in this free health insurance plan. It is a limited benefit package for kids NOT eligible for QUEST. You can download a chart listing eligibility, family costs, and benefits for Med-QUEST's programs and Keiki Care in PDF format by clicking here: Free Health Insurance Programs for Children and Youths. Background Information Five percent of our children and youths are uninsured statewide which means over 16,000 kids do not have health insurance. Approximately 9,000 of those who are uninsured may be eligible for public health insurance. Hawaii Covering Kids sponsored two meetings to determine who the uninsured "gap groups" are and how we can cover them. Here are links to our minutes: October 2006 and January 2007 QUEST, Medicaid Fee-for-Service, and HMSA Children's Plan These are Hawaii's free and low-cost health insurance programs available for children and youths. More details are available on our Children's Health Insurance Programs web page. 2007 Legislative Initiative The Hawaii State Legislature bill (HB1008 HD2 SD2 CD1) to help uninsured children and youths was passed by the legislature and the governor signed it (Act 236) on 30 June 2007. Known as the Keiki Care bill, it will accomplish the following: 1. State pays monthly premiums for children enrolled in QUEST-Net (251-300% FPL); 2. Create newborns special fund to cover up to $10,000 of health care per eligible uninsured infant who is 0-30 days old; 3. Establish free Keiki Care plan for children ages 31 days to 19 years old who are ineligible for QUEST or Medicaid. Child must live in Hawaii and be continuously uninsured six months (with an exception for children who “income out” of Med-QUEST’s programs); and 4. Change Hawaii Revised Statutes to create household income parity between Immigrant Children’s Plan and Med-QUEST’s State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Note: HMSA has agreed to continue its children’s plan for parents and guardians who choose to pay $55 per month rather than have their child uninsured for six months. State Coverage Initiatives for Children Hawaii is joining other states with proposals to find health insurance solutions for all children and youths. This web page at The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured site has a map and current list of each state's initiatives.