Enrollment in kids’ insurance falls short

Tuesday, Aug. 10, 1999 | 9:26 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A health insurance program covering children of the working poor won't reach its enrollment goal in Nevada, but the state director says it is doing "really well."

Legislators who monitor the program aren't so sure.

So far 6,781 children have received coverage under "Nevada Check-Up," which started Oct. 1, 1998. Just over half of them are from Clark County.

The state estimated it would sign up 10,000 children in the first year. There are 20,000 to 25,000 children eligible for the low-cost insurance plan, officials said.

The program provides coverage for uninsured children in families with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, about $32,900 for a family of four. Premiums range from $10 to $50 per family per quarter, depending on income.

The Clinton administration disclosed last weekend it intends to send federal officials to the states to see if people have been improperly excluded from the children's health insurance program and from Medicaid.

Federal officials have said only 1.3 million youngsters have been enrolled in the Children's Health Insurance Program, created in 1997. President Clinton said he had expected there would be up to 3 million signed up by now.

Janice Wright, acting director of the state Division of Health Care Financing and Policy, said Monday the state may not reach its initial target by the first anniversary of Oct. 1, but federal officials already looked at the Nevada program in April.

They were "highly complimentary" of Nevada's marketing and outreach efforts to get people signed up, and Nevada representatives were invited to a national conference to outline the state's program, she said.

The state says it has received applications to cover 14,214 children, with about 54 percent from Clark County.

Statistics on the Nevada plan show applications for 5,934 children were turned down for a number of reasons. About 25 percent of the denials came because the family failed to provide the required information or did not cooperate in the process.

The division said 11.4 percent of the denials were based on the children already being on the Medicaid program; 9.6 percent of the families had too high an income and 9.5 percent didn't follow through on their applications.

"All of us were surprised," that the enrollment had not risen faster, Assemblywoman Vivian Freeman, D-Reno, who headed the Assembly Health and Human Services Committee, said. "This should be a wonderful program. It's too bad."

Freeman, who expects to be named chairwoman of the interim legislative committee on health care, said she intends to take a look at why the signups have lagged behind projections. One problem, she said, is that the program may carry the "stigma of welfare" and people may not want to be involved.

"I'm very disappointed with the number of children that we signed up," Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said. She praised President Clinton for moving "to investigate why some executive branches are not moving aggressively."

The state should promote the program in casino lunchrooms and at 7-Elevens and reach out to businesses and students, Buckley said.

"We can't expect people to learn of the program on their own," the Assembly assistant majority leader said.

"There are tens of thousands of children. Why do we only have 6,700?" she asked. "It makes no sense."

The Legislature provided money for 11,750 children over the next two years. About 65 percent of the $28 million budget comes from the federal government.