Children's Defense Fund-Ohio supports statewide efforts that help children and families gain access to quality, comprehensive health care services.

According to the most recent data, one million children and 490,000 parents receive health insurance coverage through Healthy Start/Healthy Families, Ohio’s Medicaid program.  By most accounts, these are families that work, are not offered insurance through their employers and cannot afford individual coverage. However, there are still hundreds of thousands of children in Ohio who do not possess healthcare coverage.

Resources: Learn More and Take Action

Real Stories of Uninsured Children

Existing Ohio Health Care Program

 Resources: Learn More and Take Action

CDF-Ohio Covering All Children Materials:

•  Story Bank Form (PDF) - Tell Us Your Story
•  Endorsement Form (PDF) - Support Health Coverage for All Children
•  Petition (PDF) - Gather Signatures of Your Community's Support
• Covering ALL Children Makes Economic Sense - CDF's Proposal

CDF-Ohio Projects
CDF-Ohio works diligently for Ohio's children helping to ensure they are able to receive a high quality care, regardless of their geography or family income. CDF-Ohio has developed the following resources in addressing the need for Healthy Start Healthy Families for the uninsured:

 Promising Practices (PDF)- Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, this book emphasizes activities and initiatives that showed promise in enrolling children into Healthy Start Healthy Families by focusing on outreach, simplification, and coordination.

 Employer Tool-Kit (PDF) - Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, this collection of resources educates employers about Healthy Start Healthy Families and encourages them to share the information with their employees. This effort seeks to enroll eligible children who are not enrolled in the state's healthcare system.

Health Links:

• Learn more at Ohio’s Healthy Start Healthy Families website
• Download a  Healthy Start Healthy Families application (PDF)
• Download Healthy Start Healthy Families Income Guidelines and Application Tips (PDF)

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 Real Stories of Uninsured Children 

Bostic Family — Marihelen (1), Elizabeth (5), Michael (10), Steffie (17) — Dublin, Ohio: Six years ago, Marc Bostic was in a car accident that left his back broken and his sciatic nerve permanently damaged. After surgery in which two steel plates were inserted to hold his joints together, Marc's left leg is constantly numb below the knee and his mobility is impaired — he can't lift heavy objects,sit, stand or walk for too long and needs rest periods. Once a senior executive manager for a construction company, Marc has been in and out of jobs since the accident due to his disabilities. Getting health care coverage for his four children has been a challenge, to say the least. The Bostic's have been hindered by bureaucratic road blocks when trying to enroll in Medicaid and once enrolled were unable to get necessary medications or see the doctors and specialists that knew his family's history. Marc's wife, Patti, has started a new job, but the company has a probation period that will delay them from enrolling their children for six-months. You don't have to have an automobile accident to be in bad shape financially. A lot of working dads and moms are trying to provide all the things their families need, but some of them don't earn enough to afford private health insurance for their children yet make too much to qualify for Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program. A lot of families are just one health care disaster away from total bankruptcy.

Dakota (12), Amanda (11), & James (6) — Columbus, OH: Dana received notice that her children's coverage of Healthy Start Healthy Families, Ohio's Medicaid and SCHIP program, would soon end because their enrollment had yet to be re-verified. Upon learning that she would have to provide birth records for all three children, she informed her social worker that she could not afford the birth certificates which were required. [The family's income is 45% of the Federal Poverty Level.] The social worker then informed Dana that there was nothing she could do until Dana submitted each child's birth certificate. Due to cost considerations, Dana was unable to provide the required birth records and Dakota, Amanda, and James lost their medical coverage. Meanwhile, Amanda's performance in school began to dwindle and as a result her grades began to slide to below-average marks. Soon Dana learned that the reason Amanda's grades had declined was because she could not see the materials. Dana, concerned about Amanda's education, knows that Amanda needs glasses so that she can reach her full potential, yet Dana cannot afford them. Dana summed it up best when she described how frustrating it was that Amanda was failing in school merely because she could not afford the required birth certificates to get the Healthy Start Healthy Families coverage her children need. Make A Difference- See how you can help millions of children in America who are not insured.

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 Existing Ohio Health Care Program:  Healthy Start & Healthy Families

Ohio Medicaid offers two programs for children, families, and pregnant women with limited income to get health care. Once eligible for Medicaid, each child (birth through age 20) will have access to an important group of services known as Healthchek.

Healthy Start (SCHIP)

Healthy Start (also called SCHIP) is a Medicaid program available to:
Children (younger than age 19) in families with income up to 200% of the federal poverty level.
Pregnant women in families with income up to 200% of the federal poverty level.

Healthy Families

Healthy Families is a Medicaid program available to:
Families with income up to 90% of the federal poverty level. (Families must include a child younger than age 19).

What is Covered?

Doctor Visits, Hospital Care, Pregnancy Related Services, Prescriptions, Vision, Dental, Substance Abuse, Mental Health Services, And More

Am I Eligible?

Many Bureau for Children with Medical Handicaps (BCMH) families are required to apply for Healthy Start/Healthy Families. Families with incomes greater than the guidelines in "Monthly Income Maximum" do not need to apply for Healthy Start.

*For more information, visit the 2011 Ohio Healthy Start Guidelines. 

2011 Income Guidelines for Healthy Start Healthy Families