HELENA -- A state plan offering free health insurance to low-income kids still has plenty of open slots -- so the Schweitzer administration may propose expanding its eligibility.
"We're not sure we're going to be able to fill those slots within the (current) eligibility," said Joan Miles, director of the state Department of Public Health and Human Services.
But an advocate for low-income families said Friday the state simply needs to do more to advertise and push the Children's Health Insurance Program, called CHIP.
"We need to get the word out how easy it is to apply for CHIP," said state Rep. Mary Caferro, D-Helena.
The 2005 Legislature approved enough CHIP funding to add another 3,000 kids to its rolls this year, up from nearly 11,000 children in early 2005.
But 10 months into the 2006 fiscal year, the program has added only 1,500 more kids.
In July, as many as 3,000 more slots may be available on CHIP, when the state makes it easier for families to qualify for Medicaid, the state-federal health care program for the poor and disabled.
Some people already on the CHIP program then will qualify for Medicaid, opening up more slots on CHIP.
Kids currently are eligible for CHIP if their family's annual income is no more than 150 percent of the federal poverty level, or $24,900 for a family of three, and if they don't qualify for any other publicly funded health care program.
Miles said the state believes the bulk of those eligible for CHIP in Montana may already be on the program. Montana has one of the lowest income-eligibility levels in the country, and the Schweitzer administration may propose increasing it, she said.
"We're getting a lot of calls from people just outside the eligibility range," Miles said.
Some states allow families earning up to 200 percent of poverty level to qualify for CHIP programs.
But any change in eligibility levels must be approved by the Legislature, which doesn't meet again until January.
Caferro, however, said the administration needs to advertise the program more aggressively. It ran some TV ads in the past couple of months, but it needs to do more, including emphasizing how easy it is to apply, she said.
Many people think it's difficult to apply for CHIP, she said, but it requires only filling out a four-page form.
"A lot of people think they have to bring in buckets of verification," Caferro said. "You just fill out the form and mail it in. That's it, period."
Applications can be obtained by visiting the state's Web site at www.chip.mt.gov, or by calling the state's CHIP hot line at (877) 543-7669, or, in Helena, at 444-6971.
Published on Saturday, April 08, 2006. Last modified on 4/8/2006 at 12:26 am
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