CoverKids Kicks off Annual Enrollment Effort

Program Information Will Be Included in Back to School Packets

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today announced the 2011 Back to School CoverKids outreach campaign to help enroll Tennessee’s children in the state’s low-cost, comprehensive health insurance plan.

“First to the Top has made Tennessee the focal point of education reform in the nation, and we’re well-positioned to make meaningful progress in our schools,” Haslam said. “Healthy children have a better chance of learning and staying in school, so it is important that we are doing what we can to provide Tennessee’s children with access to quality health care.”

Working with the Tennessee Department of Education, CoverKids is including a flier with program and enrollment details in the back to school packet of every public school student in Tennessee.

The annual campaign has enrolled tens of thousands of children in the low-cost health insurance plan, which provides coverage for everything from physician visits to hospitalization to dental and vision care. The program’s current membership is just over 49,000, and there is room for more eligible children to enroll.

Launched in 2007, CoverKids is Tennessee’s plan under the Children’s Health Insurance Program, a federally-funded effort to provide coverage for children in families who do not qualify for Medicaid, but cannot afford private coverage and do not have access to state employee health insurance.

Tennessee families earning less than 250 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $55,875 per year for a family of four, can qualify for CoverKids. Children must also be uninsured for three months, though exceptions apply for children coming off TennCare or in cases of an involuntary loss of other insurance coverage. CoverKids members have no monthly premiums or annual deductable to meet, and do not have to pay a co-pay for regular check-ups or vaccinations. Members are required to pay a co-pay for some medical services and prescription drugs.

Signing up for the program is easy. Families can apply online at www.CoverKids.com or request a paper application by calling 1-866-620-8864.

CoverKids is a program of Cover Tennessee, an initiative to address the health care needs of Tennessee’s uninsured. Cover Tennessee includes three other programs. CoverTN is a limited benefit health plan for the working uninsured, for which new enrollment is currently suspended. AccessTN offers comprehensive health insurance for those who are uninsurable due to pre-existing medical conditions and CoverRx provides access to affordable prescriptions for Tennesseans who lack pharmacy benefits. To learn more about the Cover Tennessee programs, visit www.CoverTN.gov.