Letter to the editor: Actions taken helped more children become insured

During this campaign season, I’ve read with interest the opposition’s political advertising and letters to the editor about Sen. Terry Wanzek, R-Jamestown, Rep. Craig Headland, R-Montpelier, and myself voting against our children and not expanding health care coverage to more uninsured children in North Dakota. In a letter to the editor, one of the opposing candidates said we left 1,158 children with no health insurance.

The exact opposite is true.

The truth is, the original bill was defeated, but what the challengers forget to mention is the rest of the story. We as legislators, working in conjunction with the Department of Human Services budget, did two things that took effect in June 2009. We streamlined the eligibility criteria for Medicaid, which resulted in significantly more children being enrolled, and we directed $300,000 for outreach programs through the Dakota Medical Foundation in Fargo, because we discovered that children in the lower income levels were not being enrolled. These two changes greatly increased the number of children being insured.

In June 2009, between Medicaid and CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) the total number of children enrolled was 38,236. In August 2010, between Medicaid and CHIP, the total number of children enrolled was 41,676. That means 3,440 more children are now covered by health insurance than in June 2009, and the children covered are truly those in need from lower income families.

So, yes, the defeat of the original bill would have left 1,158 uninsured children but with the two changes in the Human Services budget we covered 3,440 more children. In reality, there are 2,282 more children receiving medical benefits by revamping the eligibility and using outreach programs. But you won’t get that truth in our opposition’s letters and political ads. All the information mentioned in this letter can be fact checked by going to the Department of Human Services website. Maybe a little more truth in advertising is warranted by the opposition.

Rep. Chet Pollert

Carrington, N.D.

(Pollert, a Republican, is seeking re-election to District 29 in the North Dakota Legislature)

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