More children are eligible for KCHIP

When the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services released its first quarter KCHIP enrollment numbers, I was excited to see that more than 1,100 additional children have been enrolled in KCHIP in 2009. We know that more children can receive the medical attention they need regardless of their economic situation.

However, more work must be done as we work together to meet Gov. Steve Beshear’s goal of enrolling 35,000 children in KCHIP by fiscal year 2010.

KCHIP provides health coverage at little or no cost to uninsured children under the age of 19 living in households at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level — about $42,400 a year for a family of four.

As a KCHIP enrollment initiative partner, United Way of Kentucky and United Way of Northeast Kentucky have been trying to reach KCHIP eligible children by providing information to 2-1-1 call centers, funded agencies, health care providers, social workers and other community partners.

But there is a limit to what we can do. We need everyone’s help. I urge families who might be eligible for KCHIP, or who know another family that meets the criteria, to talk with someone at United Way of Northeast Kentucky or visit www.kidshealth.ky.gov

Steve Towler, Executive director, United Way of Northeast Kentucky



Ohio House praised for action

I am grateful to members of the Ohio House of Representatives for their work in beginning to implement a Unified Long Term Care Budget (ULTCB) through the biennial budget process.

While advocates have worked for many years toward achieving a unified long-term care system, the idea has gained supporters among legislators as Medicaid takes an ever-bigger slice of Ohio’s budget. Currently, Ohio spends almost 75 percent of its long-term care dollars on nursing facilities and about 25 percent on home and community based services (HCBS). Ohio’s Business Roundtable (BRT) has noted that Ohio would realize a savings of $900 million a year in Medicaid costs if we were able to achieve the national average on what the state spends for HCBS versus institutional services.

House members made several provisions in the budget bill that will improve quality of life and save future dollars by strengthening the ULTCB concept. The provisions include:

-- Providing more options for long term care;

-- Adding services to help people who want to remain in the community;

-- Allowing Area Agencies on Aging to do on-going follow up with nursing home residents who want to return to their homes and communities;

-- Eliminating state limits on enrollment in assisted living facilities;

The way we provide long-term care to our older adults and people with disabilities today is fiscally unsustainable and does not meet the needs or desires of Ohioans it serves. The ULTCB is a first step to offer more choice and contain long-term care costs.

Pamela K. Matura, Executive director, Area Agency on Aging District 7