Enrollment For Low-Income Health Insurance Begins

Low-income advocates are urging Utah residents to act now to sign children up for a government health insurance program.



The Utah Department of Health opened the Children's Health Insurance Program for enrollment beginning July 1, and are keeping it open until further notice because of increased funding. The legislature provided an additional $3.3 million to insure 12,000 more children, taking the maximum number of children covered from 28,000 to 40,000.



"This is huge,'' said Utah Issues analyst Judi Hilman of the prospect of reaching more of Utah's estimated 62,800 uninsured children. ``We're not there yet. But we're moving the ball down the field.''



CHIP is funded jointly by the federal and state governments. To be eligible, children must qualify based on family size and household income.



For example, a family of four earning up to $38,700 a year may qualify. In addition, children must be younger than 19, U.S. citizens or legal residents, and not currently covered by health insurance to qualify.



Once enrolled on CHIP, families may be required to pay premiums of up to $25 every three months. Premiums and small copays make it possible for CHIP to insure more children, health department officials said.



According to the department's 2004 Health Status Survey, 250,000 Utahns are uninsured, of which 62,800 are children.