Susan Dell, co-founder of Michael and Susan Dell Foundation; Dr. Eduardo Sanchez, Texas Commissioner of Health; and other community leaders kicked off the 4th Annual insure•a•kid Week today at Metz Elementary in East Austin, with the unveiling of a new bilingual “toolkit” to make it easier for families to use their health insurance. The “toolkit” is part of the new “Get it. Use it. Renew it.” campaign that launches during insure•a•kid Week, February 8-15, 2003.
 
 With more than 75,000 Central Texas children enrolled in CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) and Children’s Medicaid, insure•a•kid’s “Get it. Use it. Renew it.” campaign aims to educate families on the value of using their children’s health insurance and renewing their coverage at the end of the enrollment cycle.
 
insure•a•kid will distribute 25,000 copies of the “Use it and Renew it Toolkit” to Central Texas families during insure•a•kid Week 2003. The innovative “toolkits” are in English and Spanish and include health record charts and forms to help families keep track of their child’s checkups, immunizations, vision care, illnesses and more. The “toolkits” also contain helpful tips for talking to the doctor, definitions of health insurance terms, a note about benefits and emergency room care and pockets for medical receipts and records.
 
“This year insure•a•kid Week kicks off a new campaign to help families use and renew their children’s health insurance,” said Susan Dell, co-founder of the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation. “Families may not realize that their health insurance through CHIP and Children’s Medicaid covers important services like physical exams, shots, eyeglasses and dental care.
 
Preventive care is not only better for a child’s health, it is more cost effective for all Texans.
“Preventive well-child checkups work,” said Doctor Eduardo Sanchez, Texas Commissioner of Health. “Children who do not receive well-child care in the first few years of life have higher rates of infection, asthma, visits to the emergency room and expensive hospitalizations.”
For example, the average cost of treating a mild asthma attack with a nebulizer and maintenance medication in a doctor’s office is $150, however, going to the emergency room for a full blown asthma attack, if hospitalized, could cost as much as $10,000.
 
“Families need programs like CHIP and Children’s Medicaid to ensure the health of children. When health care is unaffordable, the burden is placed on the community’s safety net of hospitals, clinics and doctors,” said Bob Bonar, President and CEO of Children’s Hospital of Austin. “The last legislature made great strides to increase access to care for children. It is imperative that we support and sustain these programs for Texas children.”
 
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) manages CHIP and Children’s Medicaid through TexCare.
 
“We have found in our studies at HHSC that if a family uses their insurance, they are more likely to renew their health care coverage,” said Jason Cooke, HHSC Director of Texas Medicaid and CHIP. “With nearly two million children enrolled in CHIP and Children’s Medicaid, keeping these children healthy is a great investment in the future of Texas.”
insure•a•kid is taking its public education campaign to enroll children in health insurance to the next level with the “Get it. Use it. Renew it.” campaign. insure•a•kid and community partners are sponsoring events to encourage families to get children’s health insurance, and to use it and renew it.

Activities include:
Children’s Health and Safety Festival at the Dell Diamond: Feb. 8; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
insure•a•kid Small Business Day at Greater Austin Chamber: Feb. 12; 7:30 a.m. and noon
Regional Children’s Health Insurance Coalition Meeting: Feb. 13; 10 a.m. to noon
Children’s Health Insurance Day at Fiesta Supermart: Feb. 15; 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Each year on Valentine’s Day, insure•a•kid asks the community to give a gift from the heart – children’s health insurance. More than 100,000 elementary students in Travis, Williamson, Hays and Caldwell Counties will take home insure•a•kid Valentines during the annual campaign. Radio and TV spots reminding families to use and renew their coverage will air throughout the month of February as well.
 
The mission of the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation is to encourage and inspire children to reach their greatest potential. In its first three years, the Foundation has provided more than $37 million to initiatives that impact children’s well-being. In 1999, the Foundation developed insure•a•kid program with the goal of increasing the number of children enrolled in health insurance in Central Texas. The Foundation has now taken the insure•a•kid program statewide through the insure•a•kid Texas grants for School Outreach, by committing $2.5 million to six communities across Texas to expand insure•a•kid and develop school outreach programs for children’s health insurance in their local school districts.
 
insure•a•kid helps Central Texas families apply for, use and renew their CHIP and children’s Medicaid health insurance. The insure•a•kid community collaborative is funded by a grant from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF) to SETON Healthcare Network and works in cooperation with TexCare."