NJ FamilyCare Outreach aims to “cover all children under the age of 19 statewide

An estimated 5,000 to 7,000 children in Camden County may qualify for health insurance that they do not currently have. Income information and a reliable mailing address are all that is needed to apply.

By Matt Skoufalos | April 22, 2024

NJ Healthcare Cover All Kids initiative at KIPP Hatch Middle School in Camden City. Credit: Matt Skoufalos.

At the end of the new public health emergency (COVID-19), approximately 16,000 children were disenrolled from Medicaid coverage in five South Jersey counties: Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem.

Of those, about 3,000 children in Camden City lack coverage, while Latinx/é children are twice as likely to be uninsured, city officials said.

Overall, an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 children in Camden County remain uninsured. Through the ‘Cover All Kids’ initiative, NJ FamilyCare wants to ensure that they re-enroll.

Representatives from the state and federally funded affordable health insurance company visited Hatch Middle School in Camden City last week to announce the program.

Flanked by local health professionals and city and county officials, Maria Terlecki, Cover All Kids Implementation Lead for NJ FamilyCare, urged community members to “spread the message to get all kids covered.”

Terlecki said one of the biggest hurdles to re-enrolling children is their parents not responding to emails from the program.

“Many people have moved since the renovation,” she says. “Make sure you have the correct address and respond to NJ Family Care.”

Jamie O’Brien, clinical coordinator, Rutgers University School Nurse Specialty Program. Credit: Matt Skoufalos.

All children under the age of 19 are eligible for coverage.

The most important information families will have at hand when responding to the program is the ability to verify their household income, said Victor Murray, senior director of community engagement and capacity building at the nonprofit Camden Coalition.

Most of the challenges families face in getting their children into the program are administrative, whether related to language barriers or simply a lack of awareness that their benefits have expired, he said.

These same information gaps make it difficult for public health agencies to figure out how many more children may need health insurance. Often, they can’t be staffed until the children reach school age, said Helen Hannigan, president and CEO of the nonprofit Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative.

Hannigan believes there is “an opportunity” for pediatricians who see children in their earliest years to introduce NJ FamilyCare to families who need it.

‘Instead of the first question being: ‘What is your insurance?’ we want them to give parents that information,” she said.

Other community health organizations, such as CamCare, Cooper University Hospital, Osbourne Family Health Center and South Jersey Family Medical Center, can help families enroll with the support of a patient navigator.

“We are here to help you and can meet you wherever you are,” says Jamie O’Brien, clinical coordinator of the Rutgers University School Nurse Specialty Program. “We can help you in any language.”

Robin Cogan, Navigator Exchange Program Director at the Center for Family Services, and former school nurse, described the role that public sector health care professionals traditionally play in helping uninsured families.

“Kids have gone through things because parents didn’t believe they would qualify,” Cogan said. “We may have been that hidden healthcare system, but no longer. We connect parents to coverage and then to the great healthcare resources in our city.”

Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen. Credit: Matt Skoufalos.

Health insurance keeps children in school and limits learning loss, she said, giving children access to things like glasses, medications, care to manage chronic conditions and emergency services.

“The Cover All Kids initiative is a game-changer for us as school nurses,” Cogan said.

“We can increase turnout by reducing barriers to health care.”

Camden County Commissioner Jeff Nash spoke of the county’s uninsured population as evidence of a “disconnect” between the quality health care services available locally and the barriers people face in accessing them.

“The most important thing we can do as a government is ensure the health and safety of our children,” Nash said. “We have this disconnect and it’s preventing us from delivering on our promise to families and children.”

“We need to meet our children and parents where they are,” Camden Mayor Victor Carstarphen said. “I instruct everyone: make sure you get this material.

“We need to get out into the community,” he said. “We have to say this is important.”