Families Seeking Insurance For Kids; Downturn Forcing Parents to Get Aid
Rising unemployment and the sinking economy are driving sharp increases in the number of Washington area families seeking state health insurance for their children, and more of these families are qualifying for coverage, records show.</br></br>The increases are particularly pronounced in the region's largest and wealthiest jurisdictions as employers cut benefits and eliminate jobs. In Fairfax County, for instance, requests for the state's insurance program for children, Family Access to Medical Insurance Security (FAMIS), were up 16 percent between November 2007 and November 2008. In Alexandria, caseloads increased 20 percent, and in Loudoun, they were up 16.5 percent.</br></br>Overall, caseloads in Northern Virginia shot up 18 percent during that period, from 19,299 to 22,692, compared with 7 percent for the rest of the state.</br></br>In Maryland's Washington suburbs, caseloads for the state's insurance plan for children have increased about 4 percent, from about 45,000 to 47,000.</br></br>Not only are caseloads up, but the number of people applying for such coverage has increased substantially too. Last week, the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services reported that the number of people applying for FAMIS increased an average of 24 percent a month in 2008 over 2007, from 5,073 a month to 6,291. This included a 40 percent increase in applications in September and October 2008 over the same two months in 2007. In addition, the number of applications approved increased 10 percent statewide from 2007 to 2008.