NEWS RELEASE
Albert
Hawkins
Executive Commissioner
Date: May 22, 2009
Contact: Stephanie Goodman (512) 424-6951
Families Can Now Apply for CHIP, Children’s Medicaid Online
Parents can now apply for state health coverage for their children from the convenience of their home computer at any hour of the day or night. A new online application for Children’s Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is now available at www.CHIPmedicaid.org.
“Over the past couple of years, we’ve made it possible for families to pay their enrollment fees or renew their CHIP coverage online,” said Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Albert Hawkins. “The online options have quickly become very popular, and I hope the online application will offer families another very convenient way to apply for health coverage for their children.”
CHIP and Children’s Medicaid provide 2.4 million low-income Texas children with health care coverage at little or no cost to the families. A family of four earning up to $44,100 a year may qualify for coverage.
The online application uses an interview format to collect information about the family’s income and expenses. The application takes about 20 to 30 minutes to fill out, and parents have the option of saving their work and coming back later to finish the application.
Once all the questions have been answered and the application is submitted, parents can use the website to check the status of their application. The state will send a copy of the completed application back to the family for a parent’s signature, and the family will need to fax or mail the state copies of documents to verify the family’s income and expenses.
Parents will need to have some information handy when completing the online application:
- Social Security numbers for the children seeking coverage.
- Recent pay stubs or other information about the family’s income.
- Information about expenses, such as child care, child support or alimony.
- Information about any health insurance currently covering the children.
Families also can request a copy of the CHIP and Children’s Medicaid application at www.CHIPmedicaid.org or start an application by calling 1-877-KIDS-NOW (1-877-543-7669) from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central time, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.
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