The Tarrant County CHIP Coalition works to reduce the number of uninsured children in our community. Nearly one in six Tarrant County children is uninsured – 76,000 children, according to the Census Bureau.
This blog is written by Sandy Lutz and may contain opinions that aren’t necessarily that of every member of the coalition.
To contact Sandy, e-mail her at tarrantcountychip@yahoo.com
Sandy and Dr. Robert Rodgers are co-chairs of the Tarrant County CHIP Coalition. Sandy sends out a weekly CHIP Update, if you’d like to receive that, send an e-mail to tarrantcountychip@yahoo.com.
Please address any comments on the blog to Sandy at the above e-mail, or click the “comment” button on the blog itself.
Click here to download a About the Tarrant County CHIP Coalition revised 2011.
Coalition members include:
- Aetna
- Amerigroup Community Care
- Children’s Defense Fund
- Cook Children’s Health Plan
- Fort Worth ISD
- Fort Worth Northside Community Health Center
- Global Prairie
- HHSC Office of Community Collaboration
- JPS Health Network
- Leadership Fort Worth
- League of Women Voters of Tarrant County
- League of Women Voters of Arlington
- Mental Health and Mental Retardation of Tarrant County
- Tarrant Area Food Bank
- Tarrant County Youth Summit
- United Way of Tarrant County
- United Methodist Churches of Tarrant County
- UNT Health Science Center
How you can help:
- Join and participate in the coalition
- Become a volunteer for application assistance events
- Join our outreach committee and help with marketing
- Call your elected officials about the importance of healthcare coverage for all Texas children
- Work with your community, faith and business organizations to raise awareness about uninsured children.
Quick facts:
- Texas leads the nation in uninsured children — 16.3% of all children have no health insurance.
- Uninsured children are nine times more likely not to receive needed medical care; more than half don’t see a doctor even once a year.
- Only 49% of Texas employers offer health insurance
- Half of Texas’ uninsured children could qualify for Medicaid or CHIP but are not enrolled.
- States have broad flexibility to administer CHIP and Medicaid; many have made policy decisions that make it easier for parents to enroll and re-enroll their children.
- For every dollar cut from Medicaid and CHIP, health insurance premiums rise$1.34 and local taxes rise 51 cents.
- The high number of uninsured children affects health status — Texas ranks 46th in a list of America’s healthiest states, 47th in access to ERs, and 35th in high school graduation rates.
- DFW’s public hospital systems, which depend on local property taxes, treat most of the uninsured children.
- Enrolling children in Medicaid and CHIP provides them with a medical home and consistent medical, vision and dental care.
In 2010, the number of Tarrant County children enrolled in CHIP and Medicaid increased by more than 25, 000. As of January 2011, 139,406 children were enrolled in children’s Medicaid and 38,351 children enrolled in CHIP in Tarrant County. Click on the chart below for more detail in how enrollment in these programs has grown, and how we’ve worked to ensure more uninsured children are covered in our community.
To learn more about how Texas ranks nationally in children’s issues, download: Texas on the Brink.
