COMING YOUR WAY...
Expanded Health Insurance for Iowa Children
through EPSDT and HAWK-I
Kay Leeper, RNC, MSN,
Community Mental Health Consultant,
Iowa University Affiliated Program, The University of Iowa.
Spring 1998.

In April the Iowa General Assembly approved expansion of Medicaid to cover some children who were previously ineligible, and created HAWK-I, a state child health insurance program for children who would otherwise have no coverage.

EPSDT eligibility expanded

Beginning July 1, 1998, more Iowa children from low-income families will be eligible for EPSDT. In April the Iowa General Assembly approved expansion of Medicaid to cover children under the age of 19 whose family income does not exceed 133% of the federal poverty level (FPL); under the 1998 federal poverty guidelines, Iowa children from a family of four whose income does not exceed $21,879 a year are now eligible for Medicaid. Infants to age one year and pregnant women whose family income does not exceed 185% FPL ($30, 433 for a family of four) are also eligible.

Since younger children are already covered under Medicaid at these levels, the groups of children who will benefit most from this legislation are grade school age children and adolescents. The challenge will be to create medical homes for these children and to close the existing gap between the number of children who are eligible for this program and the number who are actually enrolled in it. Providers have a key role to play in enrolling children in the program.

HAWK-I Program

In January of 1999, a state child health insurance program will be implemented in Iowa. Called HAWK-I (Healthy and Well Kids - Iowa), this program will provide health insurance for children from families whose income is between 133% FPL and 185% FPL - that is, for the Iowa children who previously "fell between the cracks" of existing health insurance programs.

The Iowa General Assembly intends that this program will become an integral part of a continuum of health insurance, and that it will facilitate the movement of families between health insurance providers. The Department of Human Services has been designated to provide the administrative oversight of the program. A HAWK-I board will establish policy, adopt rules, and direct DHS as it administers the program.

Many details remain to be worked out before children can begin receiving health care under the HAWK-I program, including development of a state implementation plan and approval of this plan by the federal government.