ARTHUR A. GIANELLI, PRESIDENT/CEO, NHCC, LAUNCHES HEALTHY KIDS FIRST, AN INITIATIVE TO EXPAND HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR ELIGIBLE RESIDENTS AND ENROLL EVERY UNINSURED PEDIATRIC PATIENT OBTAINING HEALTH SERVICES AT NUMC OR AT THE COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS IN THE NEW YORK STATE CHILD HEALTH PLUS INSURANCE PROGRAM, IN CONJUNCTION WITH GOVERNOR PATERSON, THE NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATURE AND IN COLLABORATION WITH HEALTH FIRST

December 30, 2008
Contact:  Shelley Lotenberg
(516) 572-6055
shelley@numc.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

ARTHUR A. GIANELLI, PRESIDENT/CEO, NHCC, LAUNCHES HEALTHY KIDS FIRST, AN INITIATIVE TO EXPAND HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR ELIGIBLE RESIDENTS AND ENROLL EVERY UNINSURED PEDIATRIC PATIENT OBTAINING HEALTH SERVICES AT NUMC OR AT THE COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS IN THE NEW YORK STATE CHILD HEALTH PLUS INSURANCE PROGRAM, IN CONJUNCTION WITH GOVERNOR PATERSON, THE NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATURE AND IN COLLABORATION WITH HEALTH FIRST

RECENT STUDIES HAVE DOCUMENTED THAT CHILDREN WITH INSURANCE COVERAGE ARE HEALTHIER THAN THOSE WITHOUT INSURANCE, THEY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF REGULAR WELL-CARE CHECK-UPS AND SUFFER FEWER MEDICAL PROBLEMS

PRESENTLY 25% OR 1 OUT OF EVERY 4 PEDIATRIC PATIENT RECEIVING HEALTH CARE AT NUMC OR AT THE COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS IS UNINSURED AND PARTICULARLY WITH THE EXPANSION OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL TO 400%, EVERY CHILD COULD BE ENROLLED IN A HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN AT LITTLE OR NO COST

East Meadow, NY…..Declaring that there should be no such thing as an uninsured child, Arthur A. Gianelli, President/CEO of the Nassau Health Care Corporation, launched an initiative, Healthy Kids First, to expand health insurance coverage for eligible residents and to enroll every uninsured child in the New York State Child Health Plus program, in conjunction with New York State Governor Paterson, the Legislature and in collaboration with Health First. Child Health Plus is New York State’s comprehensive health care program for children, providing a wide range of comprehensive healthcare services at little or no cost.

“If you have lost your job and your child remains uninsured, as presently 25% or 1 out of every 4 pediatric patients receiving care at the NUMC or at the Community Health Centers are, with the recently expanded eligibility for Child Health Plus coverage, even if you are a family of four earning as much as $85,000, your children qualify for free or low cost health insurance,” said Mr. Gianelli.  “Healthy Kids First is the NHCC’s initiative to get every eligible child in Nassau County enrolled into the New York State’s Child Health Plus Program.  Thanks to the support of Governor Paterson and the New York State Legislature, we can help get your children the health insurance they need to grow into healthy adults.”
            To be eligible, a child must be uninsured, under the age of 19, a resident of New York State and not eligible for coverage under the public employees’ state health benefits plan.  Even if the parent is undocumented, their children are eligible, as immigration status will not prevent children from being enrolled and parents will not be reported to any governmental agencies.  “Children can receive all the services they need to live happy, healthy lives, including:  well child care, treatment of illness and injury, prescriptions, inpatient hospital care, immunizations, emergency care, x-rays, lab tests, outpatient surgery, speech and hearing,” added Mr. Gianelli.

fter compiling a database of families of uninsured children, NHCC front line personnel will identify uninsured children and those children whose insurance has expired in order to proactively assist them in the enrollment process.  In addition, hospital personnel will work with Nassau County and the State to streamline the administration of the recertification process, while at the same time implementing a system-wide awareness and promotional campaign for the Healthy Kids First initiative.
The initiative will include posters, mailings, buttons and brochures distributed to all eligible families.  Reaching out to neighboring school superintendents will also help to drive the number of uninsured children as low as possible. Parents can call 516-572-5072 to sign up their children and speak with a Patient Services representative at NUMC or at the Community Health Centers.  The Healthy Kids First team members will discuss eligibility and help families complete and document their application.

“Recent studies have documented that children with insurance coverage are healthier, they take advantage of well-care check-ups and suffer fewer serious medical problems. Our goal is to expand insurance coverage for all children and remove institutional barriers that could be preventing children from growing into healthy adults, because that is how you build a healthy tomorrow, one kid at a time,” concluded Mr. Gianelli.