Child Health Summit
Child Health Summit
Child Health Summit
Child Health Summit
Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families hosted the Child Health Summit - focused on improving access to health care.
Health advocates and policy makers came together Wednesday for the Child Health Summit to discuss children's access to health insurance and how Arkansas will implement health reform policies.
"I think one of thing this forum does, it gives us a platform to begin to have some of those ongoing conversations to make sure that parents know their children could be eligible, to know of the benefits are to being eligible and that they know how to access that coverage," says Julie Munsell with the Department of Human Services.
"They know of all the really major national changes coming in 2014 that we're really going see a huge change in families getting coverage. But we don't have to wait for kids," says Joan Alker with the Georgetown Center for Children and Families.
Several topics were discussed in the Child Health Summit, but the most important -- the ARKids First program -- and stressing the importance of getting every child enrolled.
"I think there are lots of folks in Arkansas that are eligible and just don't know it," Munsell says.
Experts estimate that 60% of uninsured Arkansas kids are already eligible for ARKids.
"That's one of the objectives of our state, to get those 10%, those 11% kids are currently eligible but not enrolled - aware that they eligible and to make it easier for them," adds Munsell.
Which Alker says can offer a sense of security to most parents.
"It's a really important program to make sure families get the healthcare they need for the kids and they can have peace of mind,"says Alker.
Meantime, Alker says the ARKids First program has long been an example for other states.
"Arkansas has been a real leader and help pioneer in starting their ARKids program back in 1997 before the rest of the country did this," Alker adds.
According to Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, 10% of Arkansas children were uninsured in 2009, that's 71,000 kids, compared to 65,00 kids (9%) in 2008.