KJZZ

Advocates Wednesday will launch an effort to sign up more kids for a program that offers health insurance to children whose families cannot afford private insurance but make too much money to qualify for Medicaid.

This comes a year after enrollment restarted, following a freeze. The KidsCare program has room for 60,000 children, but Matt Jewett, Health Policy Director with Children’s Action Alliance, said only around 35,000 of those spots are currently filled. So, starting with Wednesday’s kick-off event, Jewett said his and other groups will work to find eligible kids to fill out the program.

"We really are trying to get the word out that KidsCare is available. It’s hard to get to families and let them know that there’s health insurance available when it was previously frozen to new enrollment," Jewett said.

Jewett said KidsCare will essentially go away at the end of the year, as the Affordable Care Act takes effect, but he said his group will be among those helping families transition from KidsCare to the health insurance exchange.