Number of Children Covered by CHIP Falls in Pennsylvania

By: Cohen, Placitella & Roth @ Aug 15, 2016

Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, otherwise known as CHIP, are two of the most essential providers of healthcare for children whose parents otherwise would not be able to afford it. Despite their essential nature, however, the number of children who are covered under the programs is on the decline in Pennsylvania – for unknown reasons – while growth increases nationally. To mitigate the problem, Philly.com reports that two Pennsylvania nonprofits are partnering up to share $1.5 million in federal money in order to increase healthcare coverage for low-income children in the state.

Connecting Kids to Coverage

The two nonprofits involved in the project are the Maternal and Health Care Consortium, located in Chester County, and the Pennsylvania Health Law Project. The federal money that the programs will use to help get more kids coverage is part of a nationwide program grant of $32 million for Connecting Kids to Coverage, which is designed to help enroll kids in need in Medicaid and CHIP. In Pennsylvania alone, data suggests that about 140,000 additional children (those who are not already covered) are eligible for state and federal healthcare coverage.

Taking Action to Get Children Healthcare Coverage

The two nonprofits named above work together to get children the coverage that they need. The Maternal and Health Care Consortium will tackle the issue by working closely with school districts, seeking out foreign-born children who are already using free and reduced-lunch programs. The Pennsylvania Health Law Project will commit to the issue by seeking out children whose coverage may have been lost due to family circumstances – circumstances that may have resulted in a child’s disconnect from services might include school discipline problems, immigration issues, child welfare participation, or an issue in juvenile courts.

The Importance of Healthcare for Quality

Regardless of circumstance, there are few who would dare to say that children – the most vulnerable in our society – are not entitled to healthcare, an essential right. The fact that these nonprofits have committed to helping children get the healthcare that they desperately need is a wonderful thing, and our attorneys at the law firm of Cohen, Placitella & Roth, P.C. are equally as passionate about the issue.

Call a Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Lawyer Today

Getting health insurance isn’t enough, though; we also believe that children deserve access to quality healthcare. While children are not the victims of medical malpractice nearly as often as adults, it still happens far too frequently than it should. If you believe that your child has not received quality medical care – including the denial of care – and that they have suffered an adverse event as a direct result, our experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice attorneys want to work with you. You can contact us today by calling our offices directly, or reach us by filling out our online form. Your initial consultation with our team is 100 percent free, and we will never charge any upfront fees or hourly rates.