The Family Magazines of Michiana

Recently, I was contacted by a man who was caring for his granddaughter. She didn’t have health insurance and had some medical concerns.  Worried, the grandfather was unsure what to do. He was self employed and didn’t even have health coverage himself.  Fortunately, he realized that he did have options, even during these tough economic times.  Through the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP), the grandfather was approved for a $34 per month plan and was able to provide coverage for his granddaughter.

In my line of work, I see these kinds of situations all the time.  I remember working with another family who had recently lost their jobs.  Naturally, they began worrying about the health and coverage of their children. But like the grandfather in the story above, they also had options. Together, we found a way for them to gain health coverage for the children, and then six months later (when they were eligible for HIP but were not offered health insurance at their new jobs), assisted them with applying for HIP. The mother and father each had an $82 per month payment for HIP. The mother contacted me after being approved for both programs and told me how relieved she felt to know that her family was covered. These families are some of the many in our area.

The rising costs of health coverage and the tighter job market have impacted some families’ ability to have health coverage for both parents and their children. But there is some good news if you are one of these families. The state of Indiana may have a health coverage plan, which are income-based and affordable, that can assist you and your family. You just need to know where to look and what questions to ask!

HIP Tips

The Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) is for adults (ages 19-64)

• An adult must be uninsured for six months prior to applying.
• There is a monthly payment to be made, based on income.  The monthly payment is the only “out of pocket” money. There are no co-pays or deductibles.
• HIP covers hospital care, preventative care, lab work, prescriptions, mental health and other medical services – except dental and vision.
• HIP is income-based and a family of four can make up to $3,675 per month.

Currently, HIP is full in the non-caregiver adult category (adults who do not have dependent children under age 19), but new applicants are being placed on the waiting list. The good news is that for caregivers with dependent children, there are still many slots available.  HIP provides free preventative care. The monthly payment goes into what the state calls a “power account” and adds the rest of the funds until the account reaches $1100.00. This money is used for prescriptions, doctor visits and more. When the $1100.00 is used up, the state offers each participant $300,000 in coverage per year or $1 million for the applicants lifetime on the plan. After being approved, it is necessary to reenroll every year that a participant is eligible. A person with pre-existing conditions is not excluded from HIP and may be eligible for the Enhanced Services Plan (ESP) which provides more benefits then the regular HIP plan.

Hoosier Healthwise Tips

Hoosier Healthwise is for children and pregnant women

• Hoosier Healthwise covers medical, dental, mental health, prescription and vision services for children.
• For a child to qualify, a family of four can make up to $4,594 per month.
• For a pregnant woman to qualify, a family of four can make up to $3,675 a month.       

(The pregnant mom counts as one person, plus the number of babies she is carrying, plus any other family members.)

• The Hoosier Healthwise Managed Care Plans offer some great services, such as a 24-hour nurse on-call number, pregnancy programs with rewards for doctor visits and other specialty programs for teens, diabetes and smoking cessation, to only name a few.

To apply for either of the programs, an application needs to be filled out. The applications are available at your county Division of Family Resources (DFR) office, frequently referred to as the “welfare” office.  I often encounter families who do not want to access the DFR office due to the stigma attached to it. This is where the enrollment centers fit in. Enrollment centers are located at hospitals, schools, health centers and other social service agencies. They are contracted with the DFR and the state to assist with enrollments and provide plan education. 

Applications are also available online to print out and mail in. For both HIP and Hoosier Healthwise, they require photo identification (state ID or drivers license) for applicants over 16, health department birth certificates (the cute ones given by hospitals with baby footprints will not work) and pay stubs, award letters or other proof of income.  Hoosier Healthwise for pregnant women also requires a doctor statement of pregnancy. For Hoosier Healthwise, a family can have health coverage for the children or pregnant mom. If eligible for income, Hoosier Healthwise acts as a supplemental coverage and will be billed after the primary insurance. HIP is for U.S citizens only, but there are some Hoosier Healthwise plan options for non-citizens.

It’s important to know that you and your family have options. To find out more about the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) visit www.hip.in.gov or call 1-877-Get HIP 9.

To find out more about Hoosier Healthwise visit   www.hoosierhealthwise.in.gov  or

Call 1.800.889.9949. Families can also apply at a local county enrollment center. If you’re in La Porte County, call Covering Kids and Families of LaPorte County at 219.210.9147 for enrollment center information and locations.

During these frigid winter months, it’s particularly easy to fall into poor eating and exercise habits, succumbing to the temptations of comfort food and a comfy couch to pass the long and cold nights.

While occasional lapses are understandable, they should never become the norm for adults and especially for their children. As a nutritionist, mother of five and grandparent of three, I’ve developed a Top 10 list parents can use as a guide to combat excessive eating, inactivity and, ultimately, unhealthy weigh gain in children: 

1. DON’T BUY IT. If you don’t bring the sweets and snacks home, the kids can’t eat them. It also prevents ‘withholding’ or what I call ‘you-can’t-have-it” syndrome. We all know that when kids think they can’t have something, they want it more. So, just keep it out of the house.
2. NEVER EAT IN FRONT OF THE TV. When you eat while watching TV, it takes away your awareness of what you are eating. This is a common link to obesity as kids become somewhat hypnotized by what they are watching and can continue to eat long after they are technically full.
3. EAT A HEATHY BREAKFAST. “It’s the healthiest meal of the day” may be a cliché, but it is also true. When you send kids to school in the cold, they burn more calories. So, they are going to be hungrier in the winter and need a high fiber, healthy breakfast.
4. OBEY THE NINE HOUR RULE. Kids need sleep. It is an appetite suppressant. If we are rested our bodies are not in a starvation mode, and we make much better choices than when we are tired and irritable. A byproduct of getting the kids to bed at a reasonable hour is that it also gives mom and dad some much-needed time alone!
5. GET THE WHOLE FAMILY MOVING. As the role models of the family, parents need to incorporate daily or weekly family events. Put in a CD and dance or compete against each other on Wii Fit if you have one. It may not seem like much, but it gets you up and moving around.
6. DON’T EAT IN THE CAR. When we’re on the go, that’s when we make the worst choices. Get out of the car and make the time to properly sit down and eat instead of selecting foods based on how convenient they are.
7. POP IS HISTORY. Never allow the kids, or yourself, to drink soda pop during a meal. If you eliminate pop or juices at meals, you can lose over 500 calories a day in sugar. That’s 30 teaspoons of sugar a day if one consumes three 12-ounce cans.
8. PARK IN THE FARTHEST SPOT IN THE LOT. This is one my kids hate! But it gets us out walking. Whether going to school, a restaurant, the mall, whatever. So take your hat and gloves and get walking. Plus, it will help keep you from getting door dings!
9. PRAISE YOUR CHILD FOR EATING WELL. They need to know when they are making healthy choices. Call them out on it.

10.  EDUCATE YOURSELF. You must first educate yourself before you can educate your children. Your child cannot make proper food choices if you are not educated in this area.

An underlying theme of many of these tips is the belief that parents need to act as the “Portion Police” for their kids during meals. The child doesn’t know when to stop, so you have to be that gatekeeper for them. Also, parents have to be proper role models in terms of both eating and exercise. You can’t expect kids to follow the high standards you’ve set for them if you’re sitting on a couch snacking the night away.

Essentially, the items on this list should serve as ammunition in every parents fight against obesity and diabetes. Unbelievably, I read a statistic recently that projected that 35% of kids in the U.S. today will develop diabetes in their lifetime. Due to this trend, children born today are projected to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents – the first time this has occurred in modern history!

Just something to think about that will hopefully snap us all out of hibernation mode!