Did you know that medical bills are on of the top reasons families declare bankruptcy? Have you, as a parent, ever held your breath when one of your children fell down or developed a fever, fearing that you may have to make a trip to the doctor or emergency room, and not knowing how you're going to pay for the medical bills because your child has no health insurance? There is help available.

• If you are currently paying your employer 5% or more of your yearly gross income for health care coverage, or if you are paying 100% of the cost of private health insurance, you may want to look into the HAWK-I health insurance program for kids. This program is designed to give families a chance to obtain health care coverage for their children ages 0 -19 years.

• HAWK-I is a federally-funded children's health insurance program that will never cost families more than $20 per month for coverage for ALL of their children, and in some cases may not cost anything, depending up the family's income.

• The financial guidelines are quite generous.' For example, a family of 5 can earn as much as $41,340 per year. And HAWK-I automatically subtracts an additional 20% from the stated annual income when determining eligibility. Once accepted into HAWK-I, coverage is for an entire year before having to resubmit financial eligibility information.

• HAWK-I contracts with Blue Cross/Blue Shield (Wellmark) to provide the health insurance coverage and children receive a Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance card as a HAWK-I enrollee. Sadly, this program has been completely under-used by parents. Most working parents believe that as long as they are employed there is no wary could qualify for a program like HAWK-I. But this is exactly you the program is designed for! , It was created to help lessen the burden that hardworking parents face every day. Six out of 10 eligible families don't even know that they qualify!

The HAWK-I program covers the following services:

Doctor visits
Outpatient hospital services
Inpatient hospital services
Prescription medicines
Well-child visits
Vaccines/shots
Eyeglasses and exams
Dental care
Hospice services
Speech therapy
Physical therapy
Ambulance services
Nursing care services
Durable medical equipment
Hearing services
Home health care
Chiropractic care
Mental health/substance abuse care

To qualify for health care coverage with HAWK-I, the children in your family must: Be under 19 years old; Be uninsured; Be ineligible for Medicaid; Meet the income guidelines (see charts below for income guidelines);

• Be a citizen or lawfully admitted alien who meets specific criteria, and

• Be an Iowa resident.

• You will need to provide proof of your income.

IF YOU THINK HAWK-I MIGHT BENEFIT YOUR FAMILY, PLEASE CONTACT:

Dorothy Griffin
HAWK-I Coordinator for HealthPartners at Trinity Regional Medical Center (515) 574-6505
griffid@ihs.org

Dorothy will be happy to help with an application or answer any questions you may have.