Covering Kids & Parents: Health Insurance for the Whole Family 

New from GHF!

All kids need reliable access to quality health care.  Children need to see the doctor even when they are healthy:  shots for school, well-child visits, and dental care are all important for kids to grow up healthy and strong.  Their parents need coverage too to stay on track with regular screenings and preventive care, to access the health care system if they become sick, and to experience the financial peace of mind that comes with being covered.

Thanks to new health insurance options available through the Marketplace, the uninsured rate among parents is dropping. Still, too many of Georgia’s low-income parents fall into what has become known as the “coverage gap,” meaning they don’t earn enough to qualify for subsidized private insurance and they earn too much to qualify for Medicaid because Georgia has so far declined to join the 27 states (and counting!) who have expanded Medicaid.

In an effort to provide accurate information to parents about the coverage options for themselves and their children, GHF has created a set of fact sheets about health insurance coverage for kids and parents in Georgia.  These fact sheets are intended to be a resource for individual consumers and for organizations who represent or provide services for Georgia families.

Affordable Health Care for Your Children and For Uninsured Parents help parents understand the coverage options for themselves and their children. If you work with low- to moderate-income families through a charity care clinic, at a school or church, or in a community-based organization, you may want to provide these resources to the families you serve.

Covering Kids paints a picture for policy makers and the media who want to better understand children’s health care coverage in Georgia.  If you work with policy makers or want to talk to your legislators about health care coverage for kids, this fact sheet will be a helpful resource.

A fourth fact sheet serves as a reference for those who need to know the income limits for the Medicaid and PeachCare programs.

You can view and download these new fact sheets on the GHF website. If you would like hard copies to distribute to your members, clients, or community partners, please contact Laura Colbert, GHF’s Community Outreach Manager.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)awarded health insurance navigator grants to 90 organizations in states with federally facilitated or partnership marketplaces. Health insurance navigators help consumers understand and compare health insurance options, enroll in coverage, determine eligibility for tax credits, and utilize new coverage once enrolled. Georgians for a Healthy Future is excited to announce that, for the second year in a row, we are part of a consortium of 12 nonprofit organizations, led by the national nonprofit organization Seedco, which received one of two grants for Georgia!

With the next open enrollment period just 58 days away, we are already getting ready. In the coming weeks Georgians for a Healthy Future will bring on a full-time health insurance navigator who will work closely with consortium partners to provide outreach, education, and enrollment assistance to Georgia individuals and families. More than 300,000 Georgia consumers signed up for coverage during last year’s open enrollment period, but hundreds of thousands more who are eligible for affordable coverage remain uninsured. Reaching these uninsured Georgians will require targeted outreach strategies and new partnerships with local community-based organizations throughout the state. Additionally, consumers who enrolled during the last open enrollment period will need assistance navigating re-enrollment and may have questions about how to understand and use their new coverage. Health insurance navigators played a critical role during the first open enrollment period and are poised to assist consumers again this fall, when the second open enrollment period begins.

Georgians for a Healthy Future is honored to participate in these efforts!

What health care rights and protections do legally married same-sex couples have in states like Georgia that don’t currently recognize same-sex marriage?

Can health insurance navigators help consumers find LGBT-friendly plans? (Hint – yes they can!)

How can a consumer file a complaint if they experience discrimination?

What new health care rights and protections do transgender individuals have?

The Affordable Care Act makes health insurance and health care more understandable, more accessible, more affordable, and more comprehensive for Georgians, no matter their gender identity.  Georgians for a Healthy Future and Georgia Equality have teamed up to develop a new set of LGBT specific fact sheets to answer some of these challenging questions that LGBT individuals and families face as they seek out, enroll in, and use their health coverage.

These fact sheets are intended to be a resource for individual consumers and for organizations who represent or provide services tailored to LGBT Georgians. You can view and download these new fact sheets below. If you would like hard copies to distribute to your members, clients, or community partners, please contact Laura Colbert, Georgians for a Healthy Future’s Community Outreach Manager.

Health Insurance Options For Georgia’s LGBT Community

Transgender Health Care

Love and Marriage: Health Insurance Rights for LGBT families