Support HB 1391, the Kids First Act!

Dear Senator,

We strongly urge you to support HB 1391, the "Kids First Act."  With the "Kids First Act," Maryland has a chance to join a few select states showing the way on kids health care and directly help Maryland's 131,000 uninsured children.

The "Kids First Act" will, 

• Expand Coverage by Notifying Families of Children's Eligibility for Existing Programs - HB 1391 will allow the state, for the first time, to better track and notify families whose children are eligible but not yet enrolled in existing health programs.  Currently, an estimated 90,000 uninsured Maryland children are eligible for coverage programs but are not signed up.  Illinois' experience with its All-Kids program, passed in 2006, underscores the need for the improved notification outlined in HB 1391.  Illinois has expanded coverage to 200,000 previously uninsured children, 140,000 of which were eligible for existing programs.  
• Expand Coverage by Easing Administrative Barriers to Coverage and Improved Outreach - HB 1391 enables the state to better track who is eligible for existing programs and requires the state to send application forms and enrollment instructions to families.  By maximizing enrollment in state Medicaid and SCHIP programs, Maryland will be able to capture additional federal dollars that match state expenditures for state Medicaid and other programs that cover children.
• Achieve Health Care for All Children Over Time - HB 1391 puts Maryland on the road to coverage for all children.  The "Kids First Act" requires policymakers to develop new and cost-effective ways to expand access to coverage for all children.  The law also advances the idea of a mandate that all children have coverage.  This is gaining steam on the presidential campaign trail and in other states, like Iowa, which is moving legislation requiring all children to have coverage.  Importantly, the Iowa legislation limits the cost of coverage to an affordable percentage of family income.   
• Make Maryland a Leader in Children's Health Care - While 28 states and the District of Columbia over the past year adopted initiatives to expand coverage for children's health care needs, only a select few have advanced the goal of coverage for all children and identified a way to do that.  States that stand out are Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington State.  With the "Kids First Act", Maryland can be a leader in kids health care.  

Why expand access to coverage?  Health insurance is literally a matter of life and death. According to a 2007 Families USA report, uninsured children are twice as likely to die when hospitalized for an injury as their insured peers.  And,

• In Maryland, uncompensated care costs for treating the uninsured add at least $948 to the average annual family premium, according to a 2005 Families USA report.
• Access to coverage helps ensure children grow to become healthy adults and succeed at school. Uninsured children are less likely to receive necessary preventive and rehabilitation care.  9.4 million children are now uninsured, including more than 131,000 children in Maryland alone.
• There is strong bi-partisan support for children's health coverage.  A February 2007 New York Times/CBS poll found that 67% of Americans believe the government should guarantee health care for all.  Even stronger majorities, more than 8 out of 10, supported expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover all uninsured children. 

The "Kids First Act" is good, progressive policy that should be passed this year.  It will build on recent progress in Maryland through the 2007 Working Families and Small Business Health Coverage Act and underscore for voters that lawmakers are effectively tackling the issue of children's access to health care coverage.

Sincerely,

Adam Thompson
Senior Health Policy Specialist
Progressive States Network

www.progressivestates.org

101 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS 3RD FLOOR NEW YORK, NY 10013
212.680.3116 | 212.680.3117 (fax)
.