Current News and Personal Opinion

CURRENT NEWS AND PERSONAL OPINION PAGE

Click Here For Previous Editions Of Current News and Personal Opinion
Current News and Personal Opinion is produced by
John Hardman RPA-C as a volunteer service for Minnesota PA's.

(November 16, 1999) I must apologize for the delay in updating this column, but priorities are family and personal health first before everything else. All is well on the home front now and we are back online once again.
The last update was well received with many compliments on the Children's Health Insurance Plan, or CHIP's, background information and suggestions as to what PA's in Minnesota can do to spread the word about health care benefits for children and adults. I was able to attend the, Covering Kids-Minnesota Statewide Coalition, on October 19, at the Kelly Inn, St. Paul. This was a great opportunity to meet with many others who shared the same interest in providing health care access and coverage for children in Minnesota.
The meeting was started by Jim Koppel, Director, CDF-MN who gave some background information on the Children's Defense Fund, which is a non-profit advocacy program for children. The Minnesota branch is based in St. Paul, and addresses many children's issues, only one of which is insurance. The MinnesotaCare Program is the state agency that administers Minnesota's child care insurance program and came into being after legislation was passed in 1992. Of note is that adults can apply under this program as well. CHIP's is a Federal program that came about after legislation passed in 1997. It's purpose was to provide funding for programs in states such as was already happening in Minnesota, and ironically Minnesota was ineligible for the funding. However, it was amazing to see how well integrated these separate programs are and how well they work together at a common goal.
Tom Ehrlichmann, CDF-Covering Kids Director, outlined the three major goals of the national organization: identify and enroll children, simplify the application process, and coordinate efforts among collaborating agencies.
Minnesota project objectives were outlined as:

decrease the number of kids uninsured by half

network to assist families with enrollment

collect data on barriers to health coverage

shorten application form

smooth transition between coverage programs

The objective regarding barriers to health coverage is where I believe that PA's can make the greatest difference. As PA's, we can make a substantial impact on children's access to health care. Together, with our supervising physicians, we can work to assure that child care services are covered when performed by PA's. We can provide in-clinic areas to help patient families to sign up for eligible programs. We can assign staff to help with the completion of forms.
The remainder of the meeting was a time for pilot projects to be presented, and for some networking, which included a visit with a representative from the Office of Governor Jesse Ventura, Pam Perri-Weaver, who followed up on Jesse's promise that he had made the day prior, regarding his commitment to see that all children in Minnesota have adequate health care coverage by the end of his term. Pam stated that Governor Ventura was committed to supporting legislation and regulatory changes that would benefit the children.
The next meeting of the statewide Coalition is planned for November 30, 1999. The location is to be announced. If you have an interest in following with this group as a representative of MAPA please let me know.

To contact the author regarding this page, contact John Hardman, PA-C

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Click Here For Previous Editions Of Current News and Personal Opinion		Current News and Personal Opinion is produced by John Hardman RPA-C as a volunteer service for Minnesota PA's.


	(November 16, 1999) I must apologize for the delay in updating this column, but priorities are family and personal health first before everything else. All is well on the home front now and we are back online once again. The last update was well received with many compliments on the Children's Health Insurance Plan, or CHIP's, background information and suggestions as to what PA's in Minnesota can do to spread the word about health care benefits for children and adults. I was able to attend the, *Covering Kids-Minnesota Statewide Coalition,* on October 19, at the Kelly Inn, St. Paul. This was a great opportunity to meet with many others who shared the same interest in providing health care access and coverage for children in Minnesota. The meeting was started by Jim Koppel, Director, CDF-MN who gave some background information on the Children's Defense Fund, which is a non-profit advocacy program for children. The Minnesota branch is based in St. Paul, and addresses many children's issues, only one of which is insurance. The MinnesotaCare Program is the state agency that administers Minnesota's child care insurance program and came into being after legislation was passed in 1992. Of note is that adults can apply under this program as well. CHIP's is a Federal program that came about after legislation passed in 1997. It's purpose was to provide funding for programs in states such as was already happening in Minnesota, and ironically Minnesota was ineligible for the funding. However, it was amazing to see how well integrated these separate programs are and how well they work together at a common goal. Tom Ehrlichmann, CDF-Covering Kids Director, outlined the three major goals of the national organization: identify and enroll children, simplify the application process, and coordinate efforts among collaborating agencies. Minnesota project objectives were outlined as: decrease the number of kids uninsured by half network to assist families with enrollment collect data on barriers to health coverage shorten application form smooth transition between coverage programs The objective regarding barriers to health coverage is where I believe that PA's can make the greatest difference. As PA's, we can make a substantial impact on children's access to health care. Together, with our supervising physicians, we can work to assure that child care services are covered when performed by PA's. We can provide in-clinic areas to help patient families to sign up for eligible programs. We can assign staff to help with the completion of forms. The remainder of the meeting was a time for pilot projects to be presented, and for some networking, which included a visit with a representative from the Office of Governor Jesse Ventura, Pam Perri-Weaver, who followed up on Jesse's promise that he had made the day prior, regarding his commitment to see that all children in Minnesota have adequate health care coverage by the end of his term. Pam stated that Governor Ventura was committed to supporting legislation and regulatory changes that would benefit the children. The next meeting of the statewide Coalition is planned for November 30, 1999. The location is to be announced. If you have an interest in following with this group as a representative of MAPA please let me know.
	To contact the author regarding this page, contact John Hardman, PA-C