New Democrat Caucus Calls on Owens to Make Work Pay
If Children in Working Families Can't Get Health Coverage,
Welfare Reform May Take Hit

DENVER - State Rep./Democratic Caucus Chair Dan Grossman (D-Denver), State Rep. Bob Hagedorn and other New Democrat legislators demanded that Governor Bill Owens get his administration's act together on health care for children in low-wage working families.  

A poor state marketing and outreach effort may result in the state's working families losing up to $19 million in federal help - almost two-thirds of those eligible have not been enrolled.  Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) covers children in working families who make too much money to qualify for Medicaid but not enough for private insurance.  

Without reform, many now-working parents may go back on welfare for a very understandable reason - get health coverage for their children.  With robust state revenues and funding from the federal government, it is much more fiscally responsible to invest in these children now, rather than waiting for them to get seriously sick and accessing much more expensive emergency room services.

“Working families who are barely making ends meet should not be encouraged to go back on public assistance so that their children can get adequate health care coverage,” stated Grossman.  “Now is no time to penalize the very families who are working hard to stay off welfare.  We must make work pay for all low-income working families - those leaving welfare as well as those staying off welfare.  Making work pay more than welfare is reform's best friend.”

Colorado's CHP+ is not working because:

The premiums are among the highest in the country (only four states charge more than Colorado) and missed payments may result in an adverse credit history.  While wanting to enroll children, counselors in the community do not want to make a bad situation worse by putting parents’ credit at risk.  In addition, the program's director admits the premium policy is not even cost effective - collecting the fees actually costs more money than the premiums themselves.

For fear that more eligible families will sign up for Medicaid, the state's marketing effort has been lackluster and application process is unbelievably bureaucratic, cumbersome and confusing.  The Spanish version included incorrect language translations.

Working Coloradans are needlessly being shuffled between Medicaid and CHP+, sometimes having to change health care providers and deal with different eligibility criteria, income ceilings, time limits and copayments.  Which government funding source and which program should not cause parents confusion and require them to needlessly waste time by having to go back and forth between two different sets of rules

Combined with the state's overly strict eligibility requirements, these factors are causing too many children to fall though the huge crack between Medicaid and private health insurance.  The state must get its head out of the sand and implement these reforms as soon as possible:

Through Medicaid and CHP+, provide basic child health care as part of a seamless, comprehensive employment system for all low-wage workers.  Income eligibility thresholds should be raised to cover more families and ensure fairness between those on welfare and those working (In some cases, families earning less money have to pay higher premiums than those making more).  

Make premiums affordable and understandable.  Families should contribute to the cost of the child's health care but current premiums amount to an empty and deceptive promise (A George Washington University study concludes that for every $10 increase in premiums, the probability of enrollment decreases by 13 percent).

Require community service for families who legitimately cannot keep up with their payments.  That alternative, while still enforcing a sense of personal responsibility, makes more sense than adversely affecting their credit records.  Already, 37 percent of enrolled families are more than 30 days past due.

Tame the bureaucracy and make the system customer-centered.  One set of seamless rules should be developed for all applicants of Medicaid and CHP+.  According to the State Auditor's Office,  bureaucratic overhead represents 37 percent of the cost of CHP+.

The New Democrat Caucus is a group of state legislators developing a new public policy agenda that moves beyond traditional conservatism and liberalism.  The Caucus embraces a new “third way” in politics that emphasizes opportunity, responsibility and community, rooted in mainstream values and dedicates its efforts to development and passage of progressive legislation.  

Other Caucus members include State Reps. Bob Bacon (Fort Collins), Fran Coleman (Denver), Albert Gagliardi (Alamosa), Bob Hagedorn (Aurora), Gloria Leyba (Denver), Frana Mace, Carl Miller (Leadville), Tom Plant (Nederland), Abel Tapia (Pueblo), Lois Tochtrop (Northglenn), Jennifer Veiga (Denver), Val Vigil (Commerce City), Suzanne Williams (Aurora), Sue Windels (Arvada) and Paul Zimmerman (Thornton). Senate participants are Sens. Mike Feeley (Lakewood), Stan Matsunaka (Loveland), Ed Perlmutter (Golden) Terry Phillips (Louisville) and Frank Weddig (Aurora).

WHO:
State Reps. Dan Grossman, Bob Hagedorn & other New Democrat Caucus members
WHEN:
Monday, July 31 at 1:00 PM  
WHERE:  
In front of Children's Hospital, 1056 East 19th Avenue in Denver