Seattle-Area Not-For-Profit Group Begins Campaign to Enroll Eligible Children in Medicaid

A Seattle community health access program will send letters to parents of children in two area school districts urging them to enroll eligible uninsured children in the state's Medicaid program, the Seattle Times reports. The 48,000-letter mailing is part of Kids.Health.2001's monthlong "back-to-school" marketing campaign that includes radio and newspapers ads, as well as flyers written in 15 different languages (Bock, Seattle Times, 8/27). The campaign also employs outreach workers who seek to educate "targeted communities" about Medicaid. Now in its "fourth and final year," Kids.Health has helped enroll more than 9,000 of the 20,000 King County children who, as of 1998, were eligible for Medicaid but not enrolled, according to campaign director Randy Revelle. Kids.Health, a not-for-profit organization, is funded by eight local health care and dental care systems, as well as through city and charitable grants (Roberts, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 8/27). For further information on state health policy in Washington, visit State Health Facts Online.