The percentage of children without health care in Oregon has dropped dramatically - from 11.3 percent in 2009 to 5.6 percent in 2011- according to the Oregon Health Insurance Survey, a statewide survey released by the Oregon Health Authority today. This puts Oregon on the leading edge in the country in bringing health care access to children.
"Today over 90,000 more children have affordable health coverage and their families have the peace of mind that an accident on the playground won't bring financial ruin," says Cathy Kaufmann, Healthy Kids administrator. "When kids and teens have health coverage, they're more likely to receive preventive and other care when they need it. That means fewer emergency room visits and more peace of mind for families."
Oregon's Healthy Kids, one of the Oregon Health Authority's first initiatives, was launched in 2009 to bring affordable, quality health insurance to all Oregon children in the face of ever increasing health care costs.
Healthy Kids offers no-cost and low-cost health coverage for uninsured Oregon children and teens 0-18, providing them with all the care they need, including preventive care such as regular check-ups, vision and dental care, prescriptions and more. Depending on income, working families may pay a portion of the monthly premium, but no family earns too much money to qualify. When the program was launched two years ago, OHA leadership set a goal of bringing 80,000 children into care, a goal that has been met and exceeded.
"The Healthy Kids Program shows that Oregonians know how to step up and solve the problems in our health care system," says Bruce Goldberg, M.D., Oregon Health Authority Director. "We've made great strides in insuring children and improving the lives of tens of thousands of families. The next step is building a strong health insurance exchange and transforming the state's delivery system for better health and lower costs."
The Raquinio family knows the importance of affordable health care. The parents could no longer pay to cover their three children even though they had coverage through work. The rising costs became too steep. Today, the Raquinio children are covered under Healthy Kids.
"We never thought we'd be able to get coverage again with the rising costs," said Leon Raquinio.
The Oregon Health Insurance Survey will be conducted every two years, gathering detailed health insurance and health- related information from more than 10,000 Oregonians throughout the state.
Oregon families with uninsured children can apply for Healthy Kids today by calling 1-877-314-5678 or by visiting www.OregonHealthyKids.gov.
To learn more about Oregon's efforts to improve health care for everyone, go to www.health.oregon.gov
Contact Info:
Media contact: Cathy Kaufmann, 503-927-6340, cathy.kaufmann@state.or.us
Stephanie Tripp, 503-269-5689, stephanie.tripp@state.or.us
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