The Health District of Northern Larimer County has launched a program to help more Larimer County residents obtain healthcare coverage through Medicaid, which serves adults and children, and Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+), which serves qualifying children and pregnant women.

Health District staff will educate local families about public health insurance options and assist them in enrolling, or re-enrolling, in an appropriate program. The service is designed to make it easier for eligible families in Larimer County to get health coverage and includes home visits, if needed, to help people complete enrollment paperwork.

"We follow up with clients throughout the entire process to ensure that it all goes smoothly for them," says Rosie Duran, project coordinator.

The CHP+/Medicaid Outreach Project is funded by a $66,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing and is part of the state’s Maximizing Outreach, Retention and Enrollment (MORE) project. The Health District was one of 13 community organizations statewide to receive funding. This new outreach and enrollment service is a partnership between the Health District and the Larimer County Department of Human Services.

From 2001 to 2006, the Health District operated a similar program that successfully enrolled nearly 5,000 local children in CHP+, Medicaid or both.

"I’m very excited to be back at the Health District serving the families in our community," says Duran, who also coordinated the previous program.

CHP+ and Medicaid are state and federal programs offering full-coverage health insurance for uninsured Colorado children, up to age 18, who meet income guidelines. Coverage includes checkups and shots, other doctor’s visits, dental care, vision and hearing services, prescriptions, hospitalization and hospital services, and mental-health services. For CHP+, a family of two can earn up to $36,000 a year, or a family of four can earn up to $55,000 a year, and still qualify. There are no monthly costs, and the co-pay for routine services is up to $10. There may be a small annual fee, depending on income.