CoverKids Kicks Off Annual Enrollment Effort

Program Information Will Be Included in Back to School Packets

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today announced the 2012 Back to School CoverKids outreach campaign to help enroll Tennessee’s children in the state’s low-cost, comprehensive health insurance plan.

“We’re focused on continuing the state’s momentum in education reform, and healthy children have a better chance of learning and staying in school,” Haslam said. “This program provides Tennessee children with access to quality health care, and more families can apply.”

Together 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 sits at more than 55,000, and there’s room for more 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.

Tennessee families earning less than 250 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $57,625 per year for a family of four, can qualify for CoverKids and will pay no monthly premium for the plan. 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.

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.