Cover the Kids (CTK) is Sacramento's Children's Health Initiative's mission is to improve the health and well-being of children in the Sacramento region by increasing access to affordable health coverage programs for low income families.
CTK is a broad-based collaborative partnership formed in 2005 and comprised of key representatives from the CHW Sacramento Service Area and other regional hospital systems, county and city officials, community clinics, faith-based community organizations, education and business.
Of the 25,000 Sacramento County children ages 0-18 who are thought to be uninsured in the region, it is estimated that two-thirds qualify for existing public health programs, but are not enrolled, and one-third do not qualify due to other factors such as immigration status or income. CTK has developed a comprehensive plan to provide medical, dental and vision coverage to all children in Sacramento County and is focused on reaching out to promote awareness and provide enrollment assistance in programs that include:
Significant progress has been made by CTK. Release of the most recent California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) data shows that there has been a decrease of 10,000 uninsured children since 2005. Of these children, 48% are Hispanic; 43% are Caucasian; 5% Asian; and all other Russian, Armenian and Farsi.
In Fiscal Year 2009, CTK distributed 250,270 requests for information to 12 school districts in Sacramento County. Nearly 5,000 requests have been completed and collected and of those 1,575 families indicated they were uninsured. Over 400 of these requests resulted in CTK providing successful enrollment assistance. There were a total of 3,337 children assisted by CTK and enrolled in health insurance programs in 2009.
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