Public health insurance for kids available Group seeks to raise awareness of underused state programs

BANGOR – Judie Tracy and her husband, Hunter, always had been vigilant about watching over their 6-year-old son, Daniel.

But earlier this year when they briefly went without health insurance because they couldn’t afford the increased monthly premiums offered through Hunter Tracy’s employment, the Brewer parents found themselves worrying more than usual.

“We definitely became more overprotective. If he’s out back sledding you’re thinking, ‘be careful.’ If he’s going over to a friend’s house or if he’s at the playground, it was always – ‘be careful,'” said Judie Tracy.

Speaking Monday at a news conference organized by the Covering Kids and Teens Campaign, part of a nationwide plan to increase the enrollment of uninsured children into public health insurance programs, Tracy said she was surprised to learn last spring that her son qualified for Medicaid’s Cub Care.

“I just assumed we wouldn’t be able to get coverage,” she said.

But Tracy still recalls the helplessness she felt as an uninsured parent. “No one wants to be unable to provide for their children – it’s scary,” she said.

Like the Tracys, many people who are employed don’t realize they’re eligible, campaign coordinator Martin Sabol said after the conference held at the Elsie C. Coffey Child Development Center in Bangor.

But because of the expanded Medicaid program that the Legislature approved in 1997, a family of four can have an income up to $34,000 and still qualify to have their children in Cub Care, he said.

Of the nearly 16,000 Maine children who are uninsured, approximately half are eligible for the state’s Medicaid, Cub Care and Healthy Maine Prescriptions programs, according to Sabol.

In its second year, the campaign is spearheaded by the Covering Kids and Teens Coalition, a group of more than 100 organizations, businesses and government agencies created in 1998 to simplify the application process, coordinate existing coverage programs and make eligible families aware of the coverage.

Chaired by Penquis CAP, the coalition oversees the outreach efforts in the Bangor area, while a Lubec-based group takes care of Washington County.

Outreach is the group’s most challenging goal, according to Sabol, a member of the Maine Ambulatory Care Coalition which helped found the coalition along with the Maine Equal Justice Partners, the Maine Children’s Alliance and consumers for Affordable Health Care.

People may associate health insurance with welfare and don’t want to be associated with public benefit programs, according to Sabol.

But in the same way that they send their children to public schools and use public roads, “people should realize this is something they’re entitled to,” he said.

Sometimes a literacy problem stops potential applicants, according to Sabol, who admitted that filling out an application form can be daunting.

But consumers can get help at various sites, including Penquis CAP, Eastern Maine Medical Center and St. Joseph Hospital in Bangor, and DHS regional offices, he said.

And members have worked to create a streamlined application process, he said.

Tracy can vouch for that. “It was a simple application, they’ve really tried to make the process easy and accessible,” said the mother who appreciated that no face-to-face interview was necessary and that she could mail in the application.

“They let me know quickly that I had indeed been accepted and was covered, and they called me several times to ask me if I had any questions,” she said.

“The follow-up has been nice and the actual program itself is very friendly and kind. It’s humbling when you have to ask for a helping hand, but no one never made me feel less than human.”

Applications and informational pamphlets can be found at area medical practices, town offices, supermarkets, restaurants and schools. For more information call the Covering Kids and Teens Campaign Helpline at 800-965-7476.