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BY JANET OJEDA Georgia's PeachCare program provides health-care coverage for children in low- and moderate-income working families. With 270,000 children enrolled, continuing coverage for all children in the state is top of mind for those worried about the federal funding shortfall the program is facing. This is a serious problem for children and families in the state that begs the question: Is health care a priority for Georgians? Dr. Patricia Ketsche of Georgia State University's Institute of Health Administration is asking this and other important questions as she continues her research about insurance coverage and access to health care in our state. "1.7 million Georgians lack coverage, and that number is increasing," said Ketsche during her keynote at Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies (HMHB) 20th Annual Legislative Breakfast in February. This growing number of people without coverage presents a problem that potentially affects the state as a whole. According to Ketsche's research, on average, the uninsured miss twice as many days from work or school as those with coverage. This translates to lost revenue for the state because of lost workplace productivity and wages for parents, and decreased school performance for children. Continued funding of PeachCare is critical to the well-being of children and families in Georgia. Health-care coverage is especially critical for children, yet Ketsche's research has revealed 300,000 unisured children in Georgia. Two-thirds of these children are eligible for either Medicaid or PeachCare but are not enrolled. Programs including Medicaid and PeachCare exist to help families and children, however, connecting eligible families and children to coverage is an obstacle. Rural children are almost three times more likely to lack coverage than children in the metro Atlanta area, and outreach continues to be challenging. "The problem is finding and getting these children enrolled," said Ketsche. Stepping up efforts to locate and connect these families with available health-care programs is a start. For 20 years, HMHB Coalition of Georgia has hosted its Annual Legislative Breakfast—the Coalition's most public forum to communicate concerns regarding access to healthcare and the status of maternal and child health in Georgia.For more information on this and other issues, visit the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Web site at www.hmhbga.org.
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