Governor Advocates Removal of KCHIP Premiums

Jan 14th, 2010

In his third State of the Commonwealth address, on January 6, 2010, Governor Steve Beshear promoted the removal of KCHIP premiums to increase accessibility of the program to families that need it most. This change will further enhance the Governor’s KCHIP initiative, which has already successfully enrolled thousands of eligible children through outreach efforts. He endorses the removal of premiums in the following excerpt from his speech:

“Through my KCHIP initiative, we have brought health care coverage to more than 35,000 previously uninsured Kentucky children. This is a fundamental change that will pay off in a myriad of ways, from better school performance to fewer chronic medical conditions. We’ve done this not by expanding eligibility but by aggressively searching for eligible children and by making it easier for them to sign up. To make our efforts even more effective, I will be pushing for us to remove the requirement that our poorest families pay a premium to participate. Over 700 children a month lose KCHIP insurance because their families can’t pay even a small premium. At a minimal cost to the state, we can remove that requirement and increase accessibility.”

KCHIP provides health insurance to children in low-income families that are not eligible for Medicaid. These families usually do not have access to or cannot afford employer sponsored health insurance. Premiums for children on KCHIP at 150 percent to 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level cause an additional financial burden on already struggling families. This proposed action will ease the burden on families and help kids stay covered.

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