Covered California to support schools to provide health insurance information

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Covered California, the California Department of Education and the “ALL IN for Health” campaign, which includes the Children’s Partnership and California Coverage and Health Initiatives, are providing an online tool kit to help school officials educate families about how to get more information and enroll in health care coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

By state law, the “School Educator Partner Tool Kit” requires schools to add an item to their enrollment forms or modify an existing item in order to provide families information about health care coverage options and enrollment assistance. This tool kit has the potential to reach more than 6.3 million children who are enrolled in California public schools from kindergarten through 12th grade.

“This collaboration will provide important new pathways for parents and their children to gain insurance through Covered California and Medi-Cal,” said Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee. “Children are what sustains a vibrant, productive and successful society, and for them to reach their full potential, access to affordable, quality health care is essential.”

To succeed in school, children have to be healthy. That’s why it is so important that children and their families have easy access to health insurance,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. “The beginning of the school year is the perfect time to remind families about how to enroll and renew their coverage. We are proud to be part of a coalition of partners with Covered California and organizations within the ‘ALL IN’ campaign to make it easy for schools to assist families in receiving accurate, timely information regarding health care.”

The tool kit includes a customizable flier for schools to use. Schools can easily insert the contact information for a local enrollment assistance entity and distribute the flier with other school enrollment materials. The tool kit is designed to help public school educators and administrators promote to parents and legal guardians, through various channels, information about their health care options through Covered California and the availability of free, confidential, in-person help in their community.

“With the start of school this fall, this is a tremendous opportunity to remind parents of the availability of affordable health insurance options,” said Wendy Lazarus, co-president of The Children’s Partnership, sponsor of the “ALL IN for Health” campaign. “Many children are eligible but are not enrolled in health coverage. Through our schools, this is an opportunity to help ensure kids are healthy and ready to learn.”

The tool kit for educators can be found at www.CoveredCA.com/schools. The website also includes a webinar for educators on how to use the tool kit in their schools.