The school district and county are teaming up to reduce the
number of children in Gilroy without health care.
Gilroy – The school district and county are teaming up to reduce the number of children in Gilroy without health care.
Children’s Health Initiative will be hosting a health insurance sign-up day at Eliot Elementary School, 475 Old Gilroy St. from 4 to 8pm Thursday.
The initiative is part of a Santa Clara County effort to insure low-income families and their children.
The initiative will offer three types of health plans for children and families.
Some families will qualify for free coverage, while others might have to pay up to $15 per child each month, with a maximum of $45 per family each month.
Families do not need to know which program they qualify for before they come, said Eileen Obata, Gilroy Unified School District nurse.
“We’re encouraging any family that does not have insurance to come and I’m sure they’ll qualify for one of them,” she said.
Continuous health coverage – meaning a person does not go a day without insurance – has clear benefits compared to intermittent insurance coverage, a four-year study by the initiative reported. Children with continuous coverage had half the unmet dental and medical needs and half the need for repeat visits for the same condition as kids with intermittent coverage.
Insurance also gives parents the chance to prevent illness.
“The most important thing is it provides families the opportunity to provide preventative care for their children,” Obata said.
Prospective clients should bring proof of residence, such as a utility bill, and proof of income, such as a pay stub. They should also bring the social security number and birth certificate – unless the child was born outside of America – of any child signing up.
