Eighteen months ago, the New Jersey Legislature approved an expansion of the state’s NJ FamilyCare program, called the Cover All Kids Initiative, which aims to provide health insurance for all children in the state regardless of immigration status. It was signed by Gov. Phil Murphy bill becomes law. This is a history of law for New Jersey and for the nation and should be cause for celebration.
Cover All Kids came into effect in Jan. 1 — but very few people know. Aside from a line of text on the state Medicaid website stating that all children under 19 are now eligible regardless of immigration status, few a mention. There is no guidance available to explain how parents can apply for their children, and to date no efforts have been made to eligible families access services. We must do better.
As a social worker for the Rights Program of the American Friends Service Committee, I strongly support the expansion of the public health insurance program to all children of the state. At the same time, I am disappointed that it took so long to start and no clear effort was made to inform or welcome the thousands of families and children of New Jersey who could change their lives for the good by this program. I hope this will change starting this month.
AFSC staff recently conducted a survey of some foreign families on the burden of the organization to see if they know the expansion of Cover All Kids. We wanted to know what these families’ experiences were in accessing health care for their children before, and what the expansion meant for them.
Of the families surveyed, none knew the expansion of NJ’s Family Care program was happening until we informed them. Many said the emergency room is the first place their children come into contact with health care.
Their methods of transportation to the ER included a ride from a friend, taking an Uber (an ambulance that can cost thousands of dollars), and, in one mother’s case, walking almost two miles to the hospital with her four-year-old daughter.
Many consumers said they had medical bills in the past year that exceeded $1,000. CharityCare is often denied for reasons that are not obvious or seem liberating – a person selling a pair of sneakers for $200 exceeding the limits of competence.
For parents who knew the state of Federally Qualified Health Centers, there were other barriers to receiving care. Prospective patients often wait months at a time. Adequate translation services are hard to come by; Sometimes Spanish speakers are lucky enough to meet bilingual staff, but many others are discouraged and feel like healthcare is not for them. Some face discrimination because of a lack of English, or because of prejudice or prejudice.
Cover All Kids is a welcome first step in ensuring universal access to health care in New Jersey; however, the program is only effective if people know about it and use it. Without a plan to engage the community in services, many of the health care problems for immigrant families will continue, and thousands of children will continue to go without medical care. first and foremost.
I encourage all policy makers and partners, especially the New Jersey state government, to spread the word about Cover All Kids and make sure it is implemented fairly and accurately, together and the well-being of migrant children and families it is designed to serve. in mind.
Will Zentmyer is a social worker with the Defense and Decriminalization Initiative for the American Friends Service Committee.