Kids for being healthy

Health Coverage Check-Up

Check-Up Answer Key

1. C There are 9.4 million children in the United States who don't have health coverage.  In the past two years, that number got bigger by a million kids. This problem is not getting better, it’s getting worse.
2. B One out of every eight children in the United States doesn't have health coverage. Think about it. If there are 24 kids in your class at school, chances are three of them don't have health coverage. That means those kids may not be able to go to the doctor when they need to. A kid with no health coverage may not be able to afford glasses or to get her hearing tested.
3. TRUE. Most people who have health coverage get it through their jobs.  But not everyone who works can get health coverage from his or her place of work. Most children who don't have health coverage have parents who work. The cost of health coverage for families is rising nearly four times faster than wages.  Some people, such as part time or contract employees aren’t eligible for health coverage through their jobs, and some employers don’t even offer health coverage to employees.
4. C. The average cost of health coverage for an average (relatively healthy) family of four is more than $12,000.  That's $1,000 a month, more than many people pay for rent or their mortgage. Families that include a member with health conditions may have to pay substantially more than that for coverage, or may not be offered coverage at any price. 
5. TRUE. Nine out of ten children who don't have health coverage live in families where at least one person works.
6. FALSE. More than six million uninsured children are currently eligible for Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program but are not signed up for either program. There are several reasons for this. Sometimes parents don't even know about the programs. Some parents don't think their children would qualify. Some don't know how to apply. Other parents who don't read well or who don't speak English find filling out the forms to be difficult or impossible.  

- Adapted from 2007 Children's Sabbath Lesson Plans for All Ages, by Shannon Daley Harris. Online resource accompanying My Boat Is So Small: Creating a Safe Harbor of Hope and Health Care for All Children. National Observance of Children's Sabbaths Manual, Volume 16, Copyright 2007 Children's Defense Fund

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