Healthy Kids Press Contact
Ashley Carr, Chief Marketing Officer,
(850) 701-6160, [email protected].

TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Healthy Kids program has come together with local community and government leaders to provide additional children the opportunity to have health care coverage in the state of Florida. For the first time, Charlotte, DeSoto and Sarasota counties will hold open enrollment. More than 2,000 children from these counties have already applied to be on the Healthy Kids program and will receive confirmation of when their coverage will begin soon. The first enrollment period for Charlotte, DeSoto and Sarasota counties will begin on May 1, 1999.

To qualify for the comprehensive health plan, a child must be age 5 to 19, be uninsured and not eligible for Medicaid. Health care services are provided through Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida Health Options. Families may qualify for reduced rates of $15 per family, depending on income. If families do not meet the criteria for reduced rates, the coverage costs $89 per month per child.

Healthy Kids provides comprehensive health insurance benefits for children including: doctors' office visits, inpatient hospital care, prescriptions, eyeglasses, immunizations and much more.

It is estimated that more than 800,000 of Florida's school aged children lack health insurance. The Florida Healthy Kids Corporation, a nonprofit organization, was established by the Florida Legislature in 1990 to address this problem and has received state and national recognition for its innovative approach to bridging the health care gap for previously uninsured children. Healthy Kids, which insures more than 75,000 children statewide, has been lauded as a national model receiving the prestigious Innovations in American Government Award in 1996 from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Parents who want to apply for Healthy Kids coverage can call toll free 1-888-FLA-KIDS (1-888-352-5437). Additional applications are being accepted now. Health care coverage will be issued on a first come first serve basis as enrollment is limited in each county.

Healthy Kids Press Contact,
Ashley Carr, Chief Marketing Officer,
(850) 701-6160, [email protected].