An innovative health care program that provided care for 2,00 Hawaii children will abruptly lose it’s state funding after only 6 months.
The Keiki Care Plan is a collaboration between the Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA) and state Department of Human Services. The department announced Wednesday it would not fund the Keiki Care Program after Nov. 1.
“This is another blow to folks already struggling,” said state Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland, who helped pass the enabling legislation.
The Keiki Care Plan was started to fill a ‘gap group’ of children who were not eligible for Medicaid and did not have a health care plan.
Approximately 85% of the 2,000 children had insurance before this program through HMSA’s Childrens Plan which is available to purchase for $55 a month.
“Since these children already had insurance, they were never a ‘gap group’ that needed state funding for HMSA to cover them,” said Linda Smith, Governor Lingle’s senior policy advisor.
HMSA says that it will continue the program through the end of the year.
The Department of Human Services (DHS) is urging HMSA to continue the program by offering these ‘gap group’ children who are ineligible for Medicaid the Keiki Care Plan for $25.50 a month.
“If HMSA agrees to this request, the only change from the current Keiki Care Plan would be that parents, not the state, would share the premiums with HMSA,” Koller said. “That way, families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, or are ineligible for any reason, could receive basic health insurance for their children at a more affordable cost.”
