WHEREAS,
All children must have adequate health insurance to access preventive and treatment health services including check ups and treatment for illnesses and accidents; and
WHEREAS
, According to the latest Statewide Survey from the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance, there are over 22,000 children – (5 percent) without health insurance in Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS
, Research reveals that parents of uninsured children live with the fear of what might happen if injury or illness strikes, and whether they will have the money to pay for medical bills; and
WHEREAS
, According to a national survey one in five parents with uninsured children kept a child away from athletic activities for fear of injury; and
WHEREAS
, Now, no family makes too much money for CHIP, as of March 2007, Pennsylvania began Cover all Kids, which lead to the expansion of the CHIP program; and
WHEREAS,
With
Cover All Kids
, all uninsured children and teens in the commonwealth who are not eligible for Medical Assistance now have access to affordable, comprehensive health-care coverage; and
WHEREAS
, CHIP may be able to help parents get insurance for their children regardless of the reason for lack of health care coverage. There are a lot of reasons kids might not have health insurance - maybe their parents lost a job, don't have health insurance at work or maybe it just costs too much; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA
, That Council hereby authorizes the Committee on Health to investigate and conduct hearings on how to increase the number of children in Philadelphia that have insurance and to raise awareness of the need for health insurance by educating community members about the benefits of CHIP and connecting stakeholders to effective vehicles to get assistance.
End