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Show Thursday, August 16, 2007 14 SPRINGVILLE HERALD UDOH Unveils CHIP Outreach Campaign Utah Lieutenant Governor Gov-ernor Gary Herbert and the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) held a joint press conference today to-day announcing a new campaign to get eligible children from all corners of the state enrolled in the Children's Health Insurance Insur-ance Program (CHIP). Beginning Be-ginning today, outreach workers will hit the road in a newly-designed CHIP van to find and sign up as many children as possible. Local events have been organized in every Utah county, where parents of eligible children will get one-on-one information about benefits, and be able to apply on-site for coverage. cover-age. The CHIP Van Tour is a key component of the UDOH 'Covering Utah's Children' media campaign, running now through 2008. The van campaign was developed to provide a recognizable rec-ognizable symbol of the state's commitment to covering cov-ering as many uninsured children as possible. The Legislature's approval of new funding this spring will allow more children to receive CHIP benefits than ever before. Lt. Gov. Herbert and UDOH are united in their commitment to getting get-ting Utah children the critical health care they need. "Utah is doing very well economically," said Herbert. "We have invested in-vested in our schools and teachers, and we have invested in programs to strengthen our economy to attract new employers to Utah. CHIP is also a great investment in Utah's future." "Society as a whole benefits ben-efits if we have healthy f children; they perform better bet-ter in school and are better bet-ter equipped to learn. And parents are able to rest easier knowing their children chil-dren will be cared for in case of illness or injury." UDOH Director Dr. David Da-vid Sundwall is enthusiastic enthusias-tic about the tour. "We're thrilled to be taking our message on the road to show families how easy it is to sign up for CHIP and begin receiving benefits," Sundwall said. "The great thing about CHIP is it rescues families during unexpected hard times, allowing them to get their finances back on track without the stress and worry that come when your children are uninsured," he added. Utah mom Beatrice Jensen Jen-sen knows firsthand how CHIP can help. In 2006, Jensen's husband died of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, leaving her and her five children without health insurance. "I am so grateful that during that time of need, CHIP helped ease my worries wor-ries by providing my children chil-dren the health care coverage cover-age they needed," Jensen said. After one year of CHIP coverage, Jensen There are certain medical procedures you want someone experienced to handle. Anything remotely associated with your heart, for example. Phen it comes to your heart, you don't want to take chances. 'I hat s why its important to know that physicians perform more heart procedures at Inrermounrain Healthcare hospitals than all other Utah hospitals combined. That experience helps us understand heart conditions in all their variations. its . Better heart technology :: : leads co a better chumcc of gating lutk to living life. It leads to expertise in providing the most advanced treatment plans and better care options. And as Utah's cardiac care leader, were committed to the best in research and the most effective technology. All of which means better clinical outcomes and faster recovery for our heart patients. . - i'i, A V. , ? s Mhw it ''1mm 4Vr Mvrj 'f : : . . c j itiifl - Intermountain Heart & Vascular Services Utah Valley Regional Medical Center IDS HOSPITAL Mc KAY-DEE HOSPITAL CENTER PRIMARY CHILDREN'S MEDICAL CENTER DIXIE REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER has been able to once again provide private insurance for her family. CHIP is funded jointly by the federal and state governments. To receive CHIP, children must qualify qual-ify based on family size and household income. For example, a family of four earning up to $41,300 a year may be eligible. In addition, children must be younger than 19, U.S. citizens or legal residents, and not currently covered by health insurance. Families can apply online, on-line, have an application mailed to them, or apply in person at the CHIP van or local eligibility office. Once enrolled, families may be required to pay premiums of up to $60 every three months. Premiums and co-pays co-pays for services make it possible for CHIP to insure more children. Current CHIP enrollment enroll-ment stands at 23,692 children. Since 1998, more have been helped by the program. The total number num-ber of children who can be covered by CHIP at any one time is determined by how many enroll, how many leave the program, and available funding. With the new funding, CHIP can insure approximately approxi-mately 45,000 children over the next fiscal year. The 'Covering Utah's Children' media campaign will run on TV and radio through 2008. Watch and listen for more information about the CHIP Van Tour. CHIP enrollment information informa-tion will continue to be distributed dis-tributed through schools, childcare agencies, and advocacy ad-vocacy groups. Learn more about the CHIP Van Tour by calling 1-877-KIDS-NOW, or visit www.health.utah.gov chip for a detailed list of event locations, dates, and times. (NOTE: The CHIP Van Tour schedule is also attached to this e- than 114,000 Utah kids mail.) Give your freshman a crash course in financial fundamentals Jason Alderman If you've got a freshman fresh-man heading off to college, you're probably scrambling to teach him or her how to cook macaroni and cheese and do laundry without turning everything pink. But there are other important impor-tant lessons you can share that will have a much longer-lasting effect on their financial future. Take credit: College students stu-dents often get deluged with credit card offers. Although Al-though opening and using an account responsibly is a good way to build a solid credit history, inexperienced inexperi-enced card users sometimes are tempted to buy things they can't really afford - or worse, to rely on their card for recurring expenses like rent and tuitioa Do your child a favor and have frequent, candid discussions dis-cussions about using credit responsibly and the pitfalls pit-falls of overindulging. Key points to tell them: Try to use your card only when confident you can pay off the balance each month. Paying just the minimum due can add years - and significant interest - to your repayment. Don't be tempted by free giveaways or low teaser rates, which often rise dramatically after a few months. Look for a card with no annual fee and a lengthy grace period before finance changes begin. A good place to comparison shop is www.bankrate.com. Investigate other fees, such as those for cash advances, ad-vances, late payments, balance bal-ance transfers and exceeding exceed-ing your limit. Carrying too many cards can damage your credit score, as can high balances. Try never to owe more than 25 percent of your credit limit on any card. Another important consideration con-sideration is the long-term financial consequence - for you and your children - of paying for college. Often, students will owe $20,000 or much more in loans by the time they graduate and many parents postpone saving for their own retirement retire-ment to finance college. Consider these points: Have your children first attend community college then transfer to a college or university, especially if they haven!t yet decided their major. Complete the Free Application Appli-cation for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form each year to see if your kids qualify qual-ify for any grants, scholarships scholar-ships or other aid (found at www.fafsa.ed.gov.) Check out What's My Score, a financial literacy program sponsored by Visa USA, which aims to raise young adults' awareness of the importance of understanding un-derstanding and improving their credit scores (www. whatsmyscore.org). College is a big step toward to-ward independence. Just make sure your kids have all the tools they need to ensure a strong financial future. 24 HOURS A DA Y AM RAD O The Key to Ife s Jesus Christ FAMILY FniSKDLY RADIO OTfJf FCS1UTAH VALLEY NOW with Full Streaming UJJ Audio on the Web 1 HTTP:WWW. KEYY.COM Children's Programs Adventures in Odyssey : M F 6:00 p.m. S Sat 8 a.m. & 8 p.m. Down Gilead's Lane ; Saturdays 7r30 a.m. & 7:30 p.m. CBH Storytime M-F4p.m. FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS Focus on the Family ........... 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