Palm Beach Post (Florida)
August 4, 2008 Monday
FINAL EDITION
PARENTS PACK FAIR, SEEK TO INSURE KIDS WITH LOW-COST STATE PROGRAM

BYLINE: By ALEJANDRA CANCINO Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

SECTION: LOCAL; Pg. 3B

LENGTH: 344 words

About 500 people stood in line Sunday to get free school supplies, bicycle helmets, lunch and perhaps low-cost health insurance for their children.

Parents started lining up at 10 a.m. for the Back to School Florida KidCare Enrollment Fair at the Shoppes of Cresthaven west of Lake Worth. The doors opened at noon, and by 12:45 parents and children were eating cheeseburgers and hot dogs, a disc jockey was dancing to Crank That (Soulja Boy) with teenagers and Angel Gray, 5, was getting a butterfly painted on her face by a smiling clown.

Rosa Rodriguez was nearby, speaking with representatives from Florida KidCare, the state’s health insurance program for uninsured people younger than 19.

Rodriguez’s daughters Isabel Ulloa-Rodriguez, 11, and Paola Ulloa-Rodriguez, 7, were patiently waiting by her side. Neither girl has had health insurance for six years. Rodriguez, 39, wanted to know whether they qualify.

She made an appointment for Tuesday.

Rodriguez said Paola, her youngest daughter, was born with a back problem. Paola needed surgery, but she had to wait until earlier this year to get it.

She was in pain, Rodriguez said, but the only clinic that could help them was in Tampa, and they couldn’t just pick up and go. Rodriguez said that if her girls are approved for KidCare, she won’t have to worry about being unable to afford treatment or medication.

Children might be eligible if they don’t have health insurance, they are U.S. citizens or qualified noncitizens, and their parents meet the income eligibility, among other requirements.

There are about 700,000 children in Florida without health insurance, state Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, said during a news conference. Most are eligible, but “we just have to let them know about it,” he said.

The event was sponsored by the state Department of Children and Families, the Health Care District of Palm Beach County, other state agencies and private corporations.

~ alejandra_cancino@pbpost.com

Learn about the program

For information on Florida KidCare,call (888) 540-5437 or visit www.floridakidcare.org.