Department of Human Services

Press = Release:

June 4, 2009

222 South Warren Street
Trenton, NJ=20 08625
Contact: Suzanne Esterman
609-292-3703

NJ FamilyCare = Express Lane=20 applications are in the mail

Taxpayers who indicated their children = are=20 uninsured to get easy enrollment form

Human Services Commissioner Jennifer Velez = today=20 announced a regional NJ FamilyCare Express Lane application = mailing=20 to families who indicated on their state tax forms that at = least one=20 child in the home was uninsured. The packets will be = delivered to=20 families in Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset and Union = counties =96 a=20 total of about 54,000 addresses.

=93 New Jersey 's commitment to ensuring = that our=20 children have access to the health care services they = deserve is=20 stronger than ever,=94 said Governor Jon S. Corzine. =93This = new Express=20 Lane option will help to boost enrollment in NJ FamilyCare = which has=20 been a top priority of this administration from day one.=94 =

The Department of Human Services (DHS), in = partnership=20 with the New Jersey Department of Treasury, is using = information=20 from NJ-1040 forms to identify uninsured children. To date, = more=20 than 450,000 children in the state do not have health care = coverage,=20 according to data provided by their parents at tax time. New = Jersey=20 is the first state to use the information gathered from the=20 streamlined process to enroll children in the state's NJ = FamilyCare=20 program.

=93This express lane application mailing = will help=20 remind families that there are health insurance options = available=20 for their children at very low rates, and for some, at no = cost at=20 all,=94 said Commissioner Velez. =93By returning this simple = application, parents give permission to share tax = information for=20 purposes of determining NJ FamilyCare eligibility. This will = help=20 identify eligible families we might not otherwise have been = able to=20 outreach.=94

In May, DHS sent out a test mailing to = 11,000=20 households. About 5 percent =97 nearly 600 families =97 have = mailed back=20 their applications. To increase awareness and response, the=20 department will be promoting each mailing and enlisting the = support=20 of legislators, local social service agencies and = faith-based groups=20 to buoy its efforts.

Two health insurance programs are available = to help=20 New Jersey 's families. Both plans, NJ FamilyCare=20 and NJ FamilyCare ADVANTAGE , = cover=20 children's doctor visits, prescriptions and other medical = costs.=20

NJ FamilyCare is a low-cost or free program = for=20 income-eligible families. For instance, a family of four = earning up=20 to $77,175 (or 350 percent of the federal poverty level) can = qualify=20 to insure their children for about $130 a month in the = state- and=20 federally-funded program. Presently, 578,404 children are = enrolled=20 in NJ FamilyCare.

NJ FamilyCare ADVANTAGE is a =93buy-in=94 = program for=20 families earning more than 350 percent of the federal = poverty level.=20 The maximum monthly premium is $411 for a family with three = or more=20 children.

Families, whose health insurance status may = have=20 changed since filing their 2008 returns, also are encouraged = to=20 apply using the basic one-page NJ FamilyCare application. = For more=20 information on the NJ FamilyCare programs, call = 1-800-701-0710 or=20 visit http://www.njfamilycare.org/.=20