State child health care coverage plan debuted

RONAN —— State Director of the Public Health and Human Services Anna Whiting Sorrell was in Ronan on Friday as a part of a statewide promotional  tour touting a newly enacted initiative aiming to ensure kids throughout the state are insured.

Healthy Montana Kids was launched on Oct. 1. The plan combines children’s Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Plan into a single plan, expanding free or low-cost health coverage for Montana children and teens up to age 19.

Meeting with area health officials at St. Luke’s Medical Center, Whiting Sorrell said there is nothing more important the state can do than to work to ensure every Montana child gets health care coverage.

Voters approved Initiative 155 last year, which approved HMK and raised coverage income guidelines. DPHHS is hoping this will allow another 30,000 children to be covered.

The new program will not only expand the perimeters to allow more families to be eligible, it streamlines the process of applying for coverage into one application.

“They just have to say, ‘I want Healthy Montana Kids,’” Whiting Sorrell said.

It also removes the assets test for coverage approval, and ensures that applications will be processed within the month they are received.

Department officials are hoping to raise the number of covered Montana kids to 100,000. They estimate that the currently 15 percent of uninsured children in the state could be covered by HMK.

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Health Director Kevin Howlett said at the meeting, “We are going to roll every rock to help children in within our base” to get coverage.

The plan will not only allow his department to provide expanded services, but will also open up funds from places like the Indian Health Services to be used elsewhere.

Tracking how many uninsured children there are on the Flathead Reservation is difficult due to a sometimes young and transient population, Howlett said, but Tribal Health is working aggressively to find and sign up qualified kids.

A recently won grant will help with tribal children outreach, Whiting Sorrell said.

DPHHS is relying on enrollment partners to provide outreach and training session so more families are aware of HMK benefits.

There has already been a flood of applications during the short time the plan has been active, Whiting Sorrell said.

“I know there are parents out there just waiting to make sure that (health care coverage) was there,” she said.

Montanans can get more information, including applications, online at www.hmk.mt.gov or by calling 1-877-KidsNow.