Schools
help make sure kids have health insurance Five area school districts
are now partnering with a local nonprofit to help ensure that all kids have health-care
coverage.
In January, Ferndale schools began a pilot project to refer uninsured
families to the Whatcom Alliance for Healthcare Access. The confidential service
is free for both families and school districts.
Schools identify uninsured kids at registration, teacher conferences
and when families sign up for free and reduced-price meals. The alliance, which
does not support a particular coverage plan, follows up with families to tell
them about various health coverage options.
There are about 4,000 uninsured
children in Whatcom, Skagit, Island and San Juan counties, said Wendy Carr, access
coordinator for the alliance.
"There is a growing awareness of several
obstacles that will prevent a child from learning," Carr said. Test "scores
won't go up if health care is inaccessible."
Bellingham, Blaine, Ferndale,
Mount Baker and Nooksack Valley school districts are currently signed up, and
the alliance expects other districts will be on board soon.
During Ferndale's
pilot project, 90 families were referred to the alliance, Carr said, and 34 families
got insurance. Many families who were referred simply had questions about insurance.
About half of the families who talked to Carr qualified for low-income plans and
the other half were middle-income families who were self-employed or who couldn't
afford the high cost of insurance. Many of those families did not realize they
were eligible for help, Carr said.
After the project in Ferndale ended in
June, the alliance made a few changes to the program and then took it countywide.
"Health
care is so complicated nowadays," said Jennifer Lewis, family resource coordinator
for the Mount Baker School District. The alliance "really fills the gap on
helping people navigate all those complicated areas."
Lewis is grateful
for the alliance as an expert resource to answer health-insurance questions, especially
since schools are taking on more and more responsibilities.
"It's a
big thing to expect school districts to do all that we do," Lewis said. "When
a community group comes to your school and offers support like this, it's a pretty
neat thing. It's neat to see school districts and community groups working together
to help families."
