Maine Launches Medicaid, Cub Care Enrollment Effort

Maine hospitals this week launched a statewide campaign to boost enrollment in Medicaid and Cub Care, the state's CHIP program, the Portland Press Herald reports. Children are eligible for one of the programs if their parents earn up to 200% of the federal poverty level. In addition, parents of children with Medicaid also are eligible for that program. Under the outreach campaign, sponsored by the Maine Department of Human Services and the Maine Hospital Association and called the "Covering Kids and Teens Campaign," the state's 39 hospitals on Jan. 10 will hold a "sign-up day" during which parents can complete a one-page application for subsidized health coverage. As part of the campaign, television advertisements will promote the health care programs and the sign-up date. While the number of uninsured people in Maine is "below the national average" and has fallen in the past three years, about 140,000 state residents lack health coverage, 18,000 of whom are under 18. The state estimates that about 9,000 of these uninsured children are eligible for Medicaid or Cub Care (Turkel, Portland Press Herald, 1/3).