Parents urged to apply for children’s insurance

As parents, teachers and leaders in New Jersey, we do everything we can to provide for our children, but we know many still go without the health-care coverage they need. Too many New Jersey children could be heading back to school this fall with well-stocked backpacks, but without health insurance.

Being uninsured takes a staggering toll on children. Children without insurance are more likely to miss the regular checkups and preventive care that prepares them to do their best in school. According to a 2005 study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, half (52 percent) of low-income children had not had a well-child visit in the past year. Almost one-third of these children did not have a pediatrician or another regular source of care.

Students who don’t receive an annual checkup – which would include a hearing and vision exam – could have a problem go undiagnosed and be driven to distraction when they cannot see the blackboard or hear instruction in the classroom. Uninsured children are 25 percent more likely to be absent from school than insured children, significantly impacting their learning achievements and success. Many families report prohibiting their kids from participating in after-school activities for fear of injury and the costly medical bills that may come as a result.

However, New Jersey has made great strides toward alleviating the problems of uninsured children, offering low-cost or free healthcare coverage to children in working families at the highest income eligibility level in the nation. For example, children in a family of four earning $70,000 a year may be eligible for coverage. As the prime sponsor in 1998 of N.J. KidCare and 2000 of N.J. FamilyCare, I remain committed to the N.J. FamilyCare program and to helping hard-working New Jersey families meet the health-care needs of their children. In the past year, new legislation and policy changes have made it even easier to apply for N.J. FamilyCare. The application has been reduced to one page, and parents are eligible to apply again. The N.J. FamilyCare program continues to cover annual checkups, immunizations, doctor visits, hospitalizations, lab tests, prescriptions, eyeglasses, dental in most cases and more.

Our efforts must not stop there. This summer I am pleased to join the national back-to-school campaign organized by the Covering Kids and Families initiative, sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Together we will host the N.J. FamilyCare Back-to-School enrollment drive to reach families who do not realize their children might be eligible for health-care coverage through N.J. FamilyCare.

If your children or your grandchildren are uninsured, call the toll-free N.J. FamilyCare hot line at (800) 701-0710. Operators can answer questions about the program and begin the application process. Together, we can help get New Jersey’s kids the coverage they need and deserve.

Assemblyman Samuel D. Thompson (R-13)

member, Health & Senior

Services Committee