U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has issued a nationwide challenge to enroll more children in health insurance programs.

Sebelius, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (Del-Pa.), the Philadelphia School District and Eagles Youth Partnership have teamed up to help meet that challenge.

Sebelius, Casey, Leroy Nunnery, deputy superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, Sarah Martinez-Helfman, executive director of the Eagles Youth Partnership and Timothy McKenna, principal of Furness High School, recently held a pep rally to connect more of Philadelphia’s children and youth to health insurance.

During her visit, Sebelius discussed her challenge to communities and group across the country, which is called “Connecting Kids to Coverage.” The challenge is a five-year campaign challenging federal officials, states, governors, mayors, community organizations, faith organizations and others to find and enroll the five million children in the U.S. who are eligible for public health insurance but are unenrolled.

“There’s nothing that’s more important to our future than the health of our children,” said Sebelius.

“No student should have to miss school, or miss out on sports and other activities because they’re not getting the care they need to stay healthy. That’s why I’ve issued the Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge and today Senator Casey, the Eagles Youth Partnership, Public Citizens for Children and Youth and the School District of Philadelphia all stepping up to the coverage, we see that Pennsylvania is leading the way in the fight to get kids covered.”

Sen. Casey was a strong supporter of the law that expanded the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which was signed into law in February 2009. During the Senate Committee debate on the new health-care law, the Health, Education, Labor and Pension HELP Committee passed Casey’s provisions to increase outreach and facilitate enrollment for low-income families and children to ensure they are in the best programs that fit their needs.

“Good health is critical to a child’s success inside and outside of the classroom; yet thousands of kids in Pennsylvania often go without needed health care because they are uninsured,” Casey said.
“The secretary has issued a challenge to the nation to do more to enroll uninsured children. I echo that challenge to Pennsylvania and I applaud the School District of Philadelphia and the Eagles Youth Partnership for ‘stepping up’ by committing to taking on new efforts to enroll children and teenagers in health insurance programs.”

During the event, the Eagles Youth Partnership accepted Sebelius’ challenge, making them the first athletic team to do so. They will support the outreach and enrollment challenge through the Eagles Eye Mobile, which aims to increase the number of children who receive vision care. The Eye Mobile examines approximately 3,300 Philadelphia school children annually and provides almost 5,000 pairs of glasses free of charge. For the more than 400 children that require a visit to a pediatric ophthalmologist, the Eye Mobile arranges a visit to a local hospital, transports the child and shares the cost of care with the hospital.

“Children need to be healthy in order to reach their potential and keep America strong. That’s why Eagles Youth Partnership support Secretary Sebelius’ challenge of 100 percent enrollment of children in health insurance,” said Martinez-Helfman.

“As a nonprofit with the power of the Philadelphia Eagle behind of us, we can build on the connections we already have with children, parents, schools and local hospitals, to support healthier children, families and communities.

The School District of Philadelphia is the first school district in the country to accept Sebelius’ challenge.

“We welcome and endorse the important message that Secretary Sebelius, Senator Casey and our local partners such as the Eagles Youth Partnership are conveying here today,” said School District Superintendent Arlene C. Ackerman.

“Together, we are spreading the word about the Children’s Health Insurance Program, a critically important resource for those families who do not qualify for Medicaid health coverage and cannot afford private coverage. For many parents and their children, CHIP closes what we in education call ‘the opportunity gap,” — in this instance, in terms of access to quality health care. Our ultimate goal is that no child whose family qualifies for CHIP goes uninsured.”

During the rally, Nunnery discussed the district’s commitment to increasing efforts to raise awareness about CHIP through existing vehicles such as the District’s Parent University, Home and School Association and through professional development of school nurses.

Through its partnership with Public Citizen for Children and Youth, a group that has experience in enrolling children and youth in Philadelphia, the school district has worked to ensure that student have health insurance and access to care. When students are identified that may not have health insurance, school nurses contact the parent/guardian and connect families to PCCY to help them get enrolled in CHIP or Medicaid if eligible.

As of September, Philadelphia country has 28,261 children enrolled in CHIP. Pennsylvania has an 85.9 percent participation rate in CHIP and Medicaid, compared to 81.8 percent nationally. However, the state has one of the largest numbers of eligible but uninsured children, 129,000 out of five million nationally.

For information about CHIP call 1(800) 986-KIDS or visit http://www.chipcoverskids.com (or call PCCY at 215-563-5848).

The Philadelphia Tribune – October 25, 2010 – Read article online