NJ: State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

from:njsna nursing e-news

state children's health insurance program (schip)

more than 8 million children in the united states do not have health coverage. most of these children are eligible for medicaid or the state children's health insurance program (schip), but their parents may not realize that the children qualify. ana has joined covering kids & families, a national initiative of the robert wood johnson foundation designed to increase the number of children and adults who benefit from federal and state health coverage programs.

on august 9, 2006, covering kids & families kicked off its 7th annual back-to-school campaign to encourage parents to enroll their eligible, uninsured children in medicaid or schip as an important part of getting them ready for the new school year. during august and september, events will take place in all 50 states and the district of columbia and will include public service announcements, media outreach, and corporate and organizational partnerships to get the word out to parents that low-cost or free health care coverage may be available for their uninsured children. the campaign and its partners reach millions of families.

if you are interested in getting involved in this important campaign in your state, visit the covering kids & family web site at http://coveringkidsandfamilies.org/whatyoucando/ to see what you can do. check out the events page to see what is happening in new jersey.