Program has health insurance for kids

The Kane County Health Department is trying to get the word out about the All Kids Health Insurance Program, available to uninsured and underinsured children up to age 19 who are county residents.

In 2003, there were 14,186 children uninsured in Kane County, according to the health department.

In 2007, there were 77,254 Kane residents, mostly children, covered by All Kids or traditional Medicaid programs. Yet many more children are not covered by insurance, and their parents may not be aware that coverage is available, according to the department.

The department and other health partners in the county are working together to let residents know every uninsured/underinsured Kane County resident up to their 19th birthday is eligible for no cost or low cost health insurance through the state's All Kids Health Insurance Program.

Uninsured means no health insurance. Underinsured means health insurance that does not cover well child checkups, immunizations, dental or vision.

All Kids application agents are available for free at the health department and many other community locations to assist families in preparing the necessary forms.

For details, visit www.kanehealth.com. For an appointment, call the Aurora office, 1240 N. Highland, at (630) 897-1124; or the Elgin office, 113 S. Grove, at (847) 695-0848.

Families may also apply for the program online at www.allkidscovered.com.

In addition, groups can invite an All Kids outreach worker to give a presentation on the program by contacting June C. Wooten, All Kids outreach specialist for Kane County, at (847) 888-6452.

Forty-seven million Americans are uninsured. Nearly 9 million of them are children, according to the health agency. More than 8 out of 10 are in working families.

Multiple factors hinder children's access to, and use of, health services, including low income, immigrant status and certain race/ethnicity categories.

Because 40 percent of children in one of these groups are in at least one other, the barriers to health-care access and use are compounded for many children.