Uninsured queries run gamut for hotline

College students, people with pre-existing medical conditions and adults who work but still can't afford health insurance premiums and co-payments were among more than 80 callers who phoned the Deseret Morning News/Intermountain Health Care Hotline Saturday hoping to find answers.

And some of them did. A woman who has a chronic medical condition and is pregnant was told she probably qualifies for Medicaid, a federal-state medical program for low income people.

A single mom whose children are covered by their father's insurance plan was told she likely qualifies for the Primary Care Network.

And after talking about household income levels, several callers were told their children are likely eligible for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which only takes applications during certain open-enrollment periods. The next one starts Monday at 8 a.m. and continues through 5 p.m. Jan. 25.

The Primary Care Network (PCN) will enroll parents who have children on the CHIP program during that open enrollment as well. Others who want to apply must wait until the next open enrollment period. They occur sporadically, as there's funding and openings, so callers were told to watch for announcements.

One individual who has a pre-existing medical condition and an income level too high to qualify for an aid program was referred to the state's risk pool insurance program.

And John McBride, director of patient accounts in IHC's Urban South Region, told several callers how to apply for charity care through one of the IHC health system's facilities.

It was a hectic hotline for McBride and three Department of Health employees: Anna West, Health Access outreach coordinator, Gayleen Hendersen, CHIP manager, and Randa Pickle, constituent services. They took dozens of calls each on questions that ran the gamut posed by some of Utah's approximately 214,000 uninsured or their loved ones.

One of the toughest categories is college students who lack insurance. Most universities now offer health insurance of some kind. For those who cannot find such a policy Hendersen and Pickle suggested they get online and look at policies offered by large, established health insurance companies designed to meet their needs.

Even people who have insurance sometimes struggle with access issues. Several callers said they have basic insurance policies through work but cannot afford the co-pays and deductibles.