Ellington

The Mississippi Health Advocacy Program estimates that 120,000 Mississippi children have no health insurance, even though three-quarters qualify for Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. A new outreach project aims to remedy the state's low enrollment in those federal programs for low-income, uninsured families.

MHAP's Health Help for Kids operates a toll-free hotline for parents who need helping enrolling their children in Medicaid or CHIP or who have questions about the programs.

The outreach program started in late February with an $800,000, three-year grant from the Kellogg Foundation. The grant pays for three full-time staff members, one of whom speaks Spanish. It also helps fund free Health Help publicity events across the state.

On Wednesday, Health Help will offer an information session for the public on Medicaid and CHIP at Jackson State University's School of Education at 5:30 p.m.

"We're doing a poor job in the state of enrolling children," MHAP Program Manager Jarvis Dortch said. "The main focus of our program is to make sure parents have a place to go to understand the application process, because right now they're pretty much left to themselves to navigate the system"

Mississippi is the only state to require annual face-to-face visits to renew CHIP and Medicaid eligibility. That requirement can prove onerous for parents without easy access to transportation, Dortch said. Parents also may need to make separate trips for each eligible child.

Mississippians have to reenroll each year. They may have not had any changes to their income but they still have to bring in the same materials each year and come in for a face-to-face visit for their children. If they have two or three children eligible for the Medicaid or CHIP programs, they'll have to go two or three times a year.

The Health Help for Kids hotline is available at 1-877-31-GET-HELP, Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. To volunteer, call the hotline or visit healthhelpms.org. Health Help for Kids will run an informational meeting on Medicaid and CHIP for parents Wednesday, June 23, at 5:30 p.m. at the School of Education on Jackson State University's campus.