Free health insurance program now covers working parents.

Popular health insurance program for children is now accepting applications for parents as well.

Released 9/2000

LIFE IS GETTING a lot less stressful for thousands of uninsured working parents throughout the state.

Thanks to a bill passed by the Maine Legislature last spring, many more low and moderate income parents are now eligible for health insurance under the state's Medicaid program. The expanded program began accepting applications September 1, 2000.

Most uninsured children and teenagers have had access to low-cost health insurance for sev-eral years through Maine's Cub Care and Expanded Medicaid programs. However, the parents of these children have generally lost out on the insurance due to more stringent eligibility guide-lines.

With the new expansion, most parents with children on Medicaid will now also qualify for coverage themselves. In addition to raising the amount of money parents can earn by 50% (to over $21,000/year for a family of three), the expansion also eliminates other onerous rules that made it difficult for working families to qualify for the insurance coverage.

According to Jon Bolton of the Maine-based advocacy group Consumers for Affordable Health Care, "This expansion represents a real victory for working parents in Maine. As the in-stability in Maine's health insurance market increases and premiums spiral out of control, more working families are going to have to look elsewhere to meet their families' health care needs. With this expansion, the state is providing many families with a real alternative to going without insurance."

The expansion for parents comes shortly after a study released by the Kaiser Family Founda-tion reported that Maine was making strong progress in its efforts to insure all eligible children in its Cub Care and Medicaid programs.

According to the report, Maine has increased enrollment of children in Cub Care and Medi-caid by 70% between December 1998 and December 1999.

However, advocates warn that there is still much work left to do. "There are still six or seven thousand kids and teens in Maine that are eligible for this insurance but haven't enrolled." says Bolton. "Many of these families simply don't believe they are eligible for any help because they are working. We want to let families know that just because you're working doesn't mean you and your kids have to go without health insurance."

Applications for both children and parents are available now at local Department of Human Services offices or by calling the Covering Kids and Teens HelpLine at 1-800-965-7476. The application is only two pages long and can be mailed back to DHS. No interview is required.

Provided courtesy of Consumers for Affordable Health Care Foundation.

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