Sacramento Head Start Alumni Association

NEW STUDY ON CHIP COVERAGE RELEASED

Feb 16, 2002

February 13- The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) has released a
study looking at the coverage and participation of families enrolled in Children's
Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The study finds that most children leave CHIP
because their parents have found private insurance or believe their children are
not still eligible.

NASHP and seven states, Alabama, Arizona, California, Georgia, Iowa, New Jersey and
Utah worked together to study retention, disenrollment and ways to keep
children in the program. Telephone surveys with 3,780 parents and six focus groups
were involved in the study.

Many parent rated CHIP as a valuable program, citing its affordability, comprehensiveness
and quality as the highlights of the program. Most of the parents interviewed said that
the reason they left CHIP was because they no longer qualified under state and federal rules.
Researchers have suggested certain improvements for CHIP retention including:

*Better educate families about the renewal process.

*Improved communication between CHIP staff and enrolled families to ensure quicker responses
to parent's problems and questions.

*Provide additional training and support for CHIP staff to assist eligible families and keep them
enrolled in the program.

To order a copy of this study, go to www.nashp.org or call 207.874.6524

Source: National Academy of State Health Policy www.nashp.org/press/prs0009.htm