Kiwanis Talks ALL Kids Program – Valley Times-News

VALLEY Angela Swain, an outreach social worker for the Alabama Department of Public Health, was the guest speaker for the Kiwanis Club of Valley at Wednesday’s noon meeting. He spoke to club members about the great success of the ALL Kids program which has proven to be a valuable resource to help Alabama families with school age children.

ALL Kids, he explained, is administered by the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) and provides low-cost health coverage to children under the age of 19 who are residents of the state.

With ALL Kids, parents can rest easy knowing their children are covered with quality health insurance, Swain said.

ALL Kids is not a new program. It has been around for 25 years. To stay healthy, children need regular medical, vision and dental checkups. They should also have adequate care in case they get sick or injured.

Children with adequate health coverage are more likely to be and stay healthy and are less likely to miss school because they are sick.

To be covered by ALL Kids, there is an application process. Swain displayed application forms that must be filled out. Basic questions must be answered and income levels apply. A family of four, for example, could have an annual household income of up to $94,000 to qualify for this free or low-cost program.

Single parents can fill out a short form.

Families that include immigrants can apply. They can apply for a child even if they are not eligible. Applying will not affect your immigrant status or your chances of becoming a permanent citizen.

Social Security numbers (or document numbers for any legal immigrant who needs insurance) are needed on an application. Business and income information for all family members will also be needed. This can be in the form of W-2 forms or wage and tax returns.

Policy numbers will also be required for any current health insurance. Income and other information is needed to tell you what coverage you can apply for and whether you can get help paying for it.

Swain said ALL Kids is a comprehensive Blue Cross/Blue Shield policy for children up to 19 years old.

Swain has been with the Alabama Department of Public Health for 24 years. He works out of the Talladega office and works in several counties in the East Central Alabama region, including Chambers.

The Alabama Department of Public Health will offer a new program to help young families starting Oct. 1. Information about the new program will be available at insurealabama.adph.state.al.us/ at that time. It will be part of the Medicaid expansion and will be especially helpful for English Language Learner (ELL) families.

We want to reach out to them to let them know, Swain said.

The Alabama Department of Public Health is the states primary health agency. Despite being chronically underserved for decades, the ADPH provides many needed services for Alabama residents. It was established in 1875 and is headquartered in Montgomery.

TALKING KIDS HEALTH Angela Swain (left) spoke to members of the Kiwanis Club of Valley on Wednesday about the states’ ALL Kids program, which helps families with school-age children with health insurance costs. Swain works out of the Alabama Department of Public Health’s Talladega office. She is a licensed social worker and covers several counties in East Central Alabama, including Chambers. On the right is club president Fran Groover.