Palmetto Children’s Health Initiative
Linking Every SC Child to an Affordable & Appropriate Medical Home
In November 2009, the Palmetto Project announced the launch of a new statewide initiative to link every child under age 18 to a medical home that is both affordable and appropriate.
There are 111,000 uninsured children under age 19 in the state who are eligible for the state’s newly reconfigured health insurance program for children in families with incomes up to 200% of poverty. Most have no medical home except emergency rooms, which often cost three times as much as visit to a pediatrician.
“Children are falling through the cracks in a state where there is affordable and appropriate care available,” said Palmetto Project Executive Director Steve Skardon. “We expect to see costs go down and medical outcomes improve. Having children go without medical care is far more expensive than having them under the care of a physician.”
The program will be a combination of roll-up-your-sleeves canvassing, state-of-the-art data collection and tracking, and public education. The first year of the project will be concentrated in areas along the coast of where the largest numbers of uninsured children live. After that the initiative will be expanded to all 46 counties. The initiative is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
- An estimated 111,000 SC children 19 and under are without health insurance of any kind. Most of them are likely eligible for Medicaid coverage, even though their parents are working and not eligible for coverage.
- Our field staff is available to provide one-to-one assistance to parents and guardians in filling out applications and certifying citizenship and income verification documents.
- Call 1-888-998-4646 to learn more about our expedited application process.
Contact: Shelli Quenga, squenga@palmettoproject.org
