February 8, 2001

NDSU Extension Service To Promote Insurance Program to Rural North Dakotans

"The ultimate goal is to make sure every child in North Dakota is covered by health insurance," says Debb Pankow, NDSU extension family economics specialist. The Extension Service has received a grant of 114,000 dollars from the Community Healthcare Association for a rural outreach project. North Dakota’s Community Healthcare Association administers a Robert Wood Johnson grant to promote the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in the state.

The CHIP program is designed to provide insurance coverage to families who can’t afford health insurance for their children but earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. It’s a national program, however states set their own income guidelines to qualify for the program. In North Dakota, a families income can’t exceed 140 percent of the poverty level. A legislative bill to raise the level to 165 percent of poverty was recently discussed by the House Human Services Committee.

The NDSU Extension Service received the grant to promote the CHIP program to farmers and ranchers. "Farm and ranch families are a different audience," says Pankow, who will serve as project coordinator. "The Extension Service has worked for years with these families, so we understand their needs."

The grant money will be used to market, through a variety of methods, the CHIP program. Multi-county coordinators and county agents will have access to displays and other materials.

The program will be promoted through farm and ranch organizations, community events, 4-H and other rural community organizations.

"There may be a stigma attached to the program because it’s a free health insurance program," notes Pankow. "Because of that, farm families might be hesitant to apply for or even admit that they need the coverage. So we think that through the extension service, we can connect with rural families to promote the program, discuss eligibility guidelines and review the application process."

The Extension Service will also study why some rural families are not enrolling in the program. "We see it as an opportunity to find out why some farm families, who are eligible for the program, aren’t enrolling," says Pankow. "It could be that the entire process will need fine tuning."

There are other health programs available for parents who are finding it difficult to purchase coverage. Those programs will also be promoted so families understand their alternatives and for what program they may qualify.

Currently, 2,175 children are covered by the program. Pankow says at least another 2,000 are eligible for the program. Of those covered, 54 percent are from urban counties and 48 percent are from rural areas. The state pays 20 percent of the premium, while the federal government covers the rest.

The CHIP program covers:

Inpatient hospital stays plus medical and surgical services
Outpatient hospital and clinic services
Mental health and substance abuse services
Prescription medications
Routine preventive services
Dental and vision services
Prenatel services

A training session for the multi-county extension service coordinators is scheduled for Feb. 15 and 16. Team training with Pankow is Janelle Johnson, "Covering Kids" project coordinator, Community HealthCare Association. Johnson is currently responsible for the direction of all four phases of the CHIP program in North Dakota: Department of Human Services, Tribal Associations, Medicaid and the NDSU Extension program.

For more information about the CHIP program or to request an application, call the toll-free number at 1-800-755-2604.

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Source: Deb Pankow, (701) 231-8593, dpankow@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Rich Mattern, (701) 231-6136, Richard_Mattern@ndsu.nodak.edu