Providing Quality Customer Service
Here at Florida Healthy Kids, a Florida KidCare partner, we strive to provide quality customer service to families currently enrolled in the program and to those interested in applying with us. We can be reached several ways:
General information about the program: 1-888-540-5437
Account information for enrollees and current applicants: 1-800-821-5437 (7:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m.) OR help@healthykids.org OR https://www.healthykids.org/account/. The email address of johnsonm@healthykids.org is no longer available for inquiries.
Applying or renewing applications: applyrenew.healthykids@acs-inc.com or fax to (866) 867-0054
As always, we are ready and willing to help in any way that we can. At this time, we are experiencing a high call volume which is causing longer than normal wait times. We thank you for your patience as we work to answer each call efficiently and accurately.
Fall is the Season for Health Plan Choices
Healthy Kids has recently made some changes to your choices of health plans. The affected counties with changes are listed below. As of September 1st, families can now select or change health plans based on the new options. The change will be effective October 1st. When you change health plans, you will receive a new identification card and member handbook from your new plan. We will also send you a letter stating the begin date of the change. However, you must continue to use your current plan for services until the start date of the change.
If you have any questions about these plans, please call the health plan directly. Their telephone numbers are listed below. All calls are free. You may also visit http://www.healthykids.org/benefits/providers for more information.
Please note that if your child’s current plan is no longer available in your county, he or she will be automatically assigned to a new health plan. If you would like to change that health plan, please do so by November 30, 2012.
How Do I Make a Change?
If you would like to change your health plan, use one of these options:
- Telephone: Call 1-800-821-5437. The Interactive Voice Response System (IVR) is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- Website: Log on to our website at www.healthykids.org and click on “My Account.”
- Fax: Fax your choice written in below to 1-866-695-1017.
We hope that you are pleased with this selection of health plans. As always, we remain committed to quality health care for your children.
Family Account Number: _____________________________
Parent Name: ________________________________
New Health Plan Choice: ___________________________________
|
Health Plan |
Health Plan Phone Number |
Affected Counties |
| UnitedHealthcare Community Plan | 1-888-216-0015 | Alachua, Baker, Bay, Bradford, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Miami-Dade, Desoto, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Glades, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Holmes, Indian River, Jackson, Lafayette, Lee, Manatee, Monroe, Nassau, Okaloosa, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Putnam, Santa Rosa, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Volusia, Walton, Washington |
| Staywell Kids | 1-866-698-5437 | Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Calhoun, Charlotte, Collier, Columbia, Miami-Dade, Desoto, Dixie, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Glades, Gulf, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Holmes, Indian River, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Monroe, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, Wakulla, Walton |
| HealthEase Kids | 1-800-278-8178 | Bay, Citrus, Clay, Duval, Martin, Nassau, Washington |
| Amerigroup Community Care | 1-800-600-4441 | Brevard, Broward, Hillsborough, Lake, Orange, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole, Volusia |
| Florida Health Care Plans | 1-877-615-4022 | Collier |
| SunshineStateHealth Plan | 1-866-796-0530 | St. Lucie |
| Coventry Health Care of Florida (Vista) | 1-800-441-5501 | Calhoun, Columbia, Miami-Dade, Dixie, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Jefferson, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Marion, Martin, Okeechobee, Wakulla |
| BlueCare | 1-877-352-2583 | Sumter |
We Hear You
Florida Healthy Kids Corporation Blog Comment Policy
Thank you for becoming a fan of the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation (FHKC) blog! Here you will find in-depth information on Florida Healthy Kids Corporation and Florida KidCare, as well as fun health tips, interesting news stories, easy snack ideas, fun activities, low-cost (or free!) family trips, and all sorts of cool stuff.
We are also happy to provide you with a forum to voice your opinions and provide feedback on FHKC blog posts. We love hearing from all of our FHKC and Florida KidCare families, friends and advocates; however, we do ask that you adhere to the following comment policy in order to keep the blog a family-friendly atmosphere where everyone has a fair chance to be heard.
Comments, photos and links that contain any of the following will be deleted:
- Hate speech
- Personal information such as social security number, family account number and the full names of children enrolled in the program, etc.
- Profanity, obscenity or vulgarity
- Promotion of health insurance providers
- Nudity
- Defamation to a person or people
- Name calling and/or personal attacks
- Solicitations
- Copyright infringements
- Spam (This includes repeatedly posting the same comment on the profile.)
FHKC reserves the right to remove comments that do not fall into one of the categories above but are deemed to be offense by staff members or fellow fans. Repeated violations of the comment policy may cause an author to be blocked from the blog.
We will do our best to remove all comments that violate the policy quickly; however, we may not see every violation immediately. If you are the recipient of a personal attack or negative speech, please do not respond.
We also want to remind fans that sharing third-party information on the blog does not constitute an endorsement from Florida Health Kids.
KidCare Partners Launch Campaign to Get All Kids Covered by Insurance
Florida KidCare partners and community leaders today celebrated Florida’s position as the national leader in reducing the rate of children without health insurance and announced a new campaign and commitment to get every child covered.
According to the most recent data from the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University, Florida leads the nation in decreasing the number of uninsured children, down from 16.7 percent to 12.7 percent over a span of two years. Officials say this reduction is particularly impressive, given population growth during that period of time.
Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, who designates a chair for the board of directors of Florida Healthy Kids Corporation, credited the work of Florida KidCare partners and praised the Florida Legislature for providing resources for the program to accommodate 100 percent of the projected enrollment. The 2012 Florida Legislature also passed a law extending subsidized coverage through Florida KidCare to eligible dependents of state employees.
“Florida saw that there were far too many children in our state without access to care, and Florida developed a solution with KidCare that is working,” said CFO Atwater. “We have made incredible progress, but there is still work to be done. We have a duty to ensure that the next generation of Floridians is healthy and ready to grasp all of the opportunities the future holds.”
In order to celebrate this achievement and boost support moving forward, Florida KidCare partners and state leaders pledged their efforts to get all children covered and launched a new campaign called “Kids Oughta Be Covered.”
The campaign drives home that message through a series of visuals, featuring children safely covered — under blankets, umbrellas, forts, tents and other structures, reinforcing the idea that every child should be covered by health insurance. Throughout this campaign, one character will be visible and featured in the child-friendly materials: “Kid Care,” the superhero with the mission to make sure every kid is covered. Florida KidCare partners are staging local events throughout the state for the back to school season, distributing campaign posters, brochures and postcards to remind families that “Kids Oughta Be Covered.”
Florida KidCare, introduced in 1998, is the umbrella for children’s health insurance programs in Florida and consists of Florida Healthy Kids (non-Medicaid eligible children ages 5-18,) MediKids (non-Medicaid eligible children ages 1-4,) Children’s Medical Services Network (children birth to 18 with special health care needs) and Medicaid for Children (low-income children from birth to 18.)
“We are on a mission to make sure that every Florida child is covered by health insurance,” said Wendy Link, Florida Healthy Kids Corporation Board Chair Designee. “Kids with insurance are more likely to receive regular, preventive health care and as a result stay healthier.”
Rich Robleto, executive director of Florida Healthy Kids Corp., said he is optimistic that the state can further close the gap.
“Nearly every family, no matter what the income level, can find affordable health insurance for their children through one of these programs,” Robleto said. “The goal of our campaign is to make sure parents understand the importance of having health insurance coverage for their children and to let them know that it is available and affordable.”
“As the Florida Department of Children and Families works hard to strengthen families, KidCare and Healthy Kids are important partners in ensuring all kids have access to the resources they need to keep them healthy, happy and safe,” said Deputy Secretary Suzanne Vitale.
The most recent census of Florida’s population of uninsured children documents a drop from an estimated 700,000 to 507,000, bringing the state’s percentage down 4 percent, according to the Georgetown University report.
“At first glance, having health insurance and doing well in school may not seem to be closely related. But in fact, kids who have health insurance see their doctors regularly and are able to receive treatment if they get sick,” said Penny Detscher, Program Director of the Office of Healthy Schools at the Florida Department of Education. “As a result, they are likely to miss fewer days of school which helps them to stay current with their school assignments, pay closer attention in class and enjoy the social and extracurricular opportunities their schools may offer.”
The “Kids Oughta Be Covered” campaign is designed to capture children’s attention and interest with the superhero Kid Care’s adventures and other child-friendly elements.
“With this new campaign, we will roll up our sleeves and recommit ourselves to extending essential, comprehensive health insurance coverage to every eligible child,” said Liz Dudek, Secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration. “To accomplish this, we need to educate and motivate parents about the benefit that health insurance provides to their families and their children.”
Through Florida KidCare, children have access to comprehensive health care benefits, including:
Doctor visits Check-ups Immunizations Hospital visits Surgeries Prescriptions Emergency services Vision and hearing screenings Dental visits Behavioral health services Florida KidCare
Florida KidCare, created in 1998, is made up of four programs (Medicaid, MediKids, Healthy Kids and Children’s Medical Services Network) that collectively provide health insurance for children from birth through age 18. Currently, more than 2 million children are enrolled in Florida KidCare. For more information, visit www.floridakidcare.org.
Protecting Your Privacy
Florida KidCare follows strict privacy laws to protect your personal information, which is why your family account number may have been changed recently.
Some families should have received a letter in the mail telling them about this change. If your family applied for Florida KidCare more than seven years ago, the family account number includes one of the parent’s social security number (SSN). New generic numbers have been assigned to all accounts that included a parent’s SSN. Florida KidCare will no longer use these old account numbers.
If you have been assigned a new account number and you use the Internet to manage your account, you will need to create a new user ID and password the next time you visit the website. New coupon books will be sent to you at the time of your annual renewal. You can continue to use your old coupon books without any issues.
Thank you for your patience and understanding with this change.
FAQ Friday: Insurance Costs +/- 5 Percent
As required by law, all families enrolled in Florida Healthy Kids and KidCare must renew their coverage annually. The date that you renew is based on the date you were initially enrolled. Our next few FAQ Fridays will focus on answering common renewal questions. Today’s question talks about insurance costs.
Q. How can I tell if my insurance cost is less than 5%?
A. To determine this figure, you will need two things, your monthly income before taxes and the monthly cost to insure your children through your employer’s coverage. Begin by multiplying your monthly income before taxes by 5%. If the figure is less than the monthly cost to insure your children through your employer, then you will continue to qualify for the reduced rate as long as all other eligibility criteria are met.
Example 1:
Monthly Income before Taxes: $2,000.00
5% of Monthly Income: $100.00
Monthly Cost to Add Child to Employer-Based Coverage: $125.00
Can child remain enrolled at $15/$20 per family per month?
YES.
Example 2:
Monthly Income before Taxes: $1,500.00
5% of Monthly Income: $75.00
Monthly Cost to Add Child to Employer-Based Coverage: $50.00
Can child remain enrolled at $15/$20 per family per month?
NO. If the child meets the other eligibility requirements for Healthy Kids, the child may enroll in Healthy Kids at the full pay price.
As always, if you have other renewal questions, please visit our renewal process FAQ web page: https://www.healthykids.org/renew/faqs/index.php#topofpage
Students Show Us What Healthy Looks Like
As the 2011-2012 school year rapidly comes to an end, we knew we could not miss the opportunity to brag on the amazing Florida students who won scholarships in our annual Act Out For Health Contest.
In our fourth year of hosting this contest, we were reminded of just how talented and creative Florida students are. Our judges had the pleasure of reviewing 375 imaginative pieces of work from kids and teens in grades 4 through 12. Students selected a theme and designed a billboard, produced a 30-second public service announcement (PSA) or wrote an essay for a chance to win scholarship prizes.
After several hours and much debate, our judges selected a total of 32 students to receive awards. Below is a list of the statewide and regional winners. You can view all the winners HERE:
Billboard
Statewide- Tiffany Liu (The Villages Charter Middle School)
Region 1-Jane Crlenjak (Desoto Trail Elementary School)
Region 2- Kayla Vickers (Deltona High School)
Region 3 – Tiffany Cuevas (South Tech Academy)
PSA
Statewide- Belen Mella (Miami Beach Senior High School)
Region 1- Onoriode Onokpise and Michael Cook (Godby High School)
Region 2- BreeAnn Braden (Marchman Technical Education Center)
Region 3- Taylor Schwarz, Chase Elliott & Corey Ray (Palm Beach Gardens High School)
Essay
Statewide- Patricia Morrison (Space Coast Jr/Sr High School)
Region 2 – Michael Bones (Dunnellon Middle School)
Region 3- Kerri Hines (Moore Haven Elementary School)
Florida Healthy Kids Corporation thanks all the students who submitted an entry this year, and offers a big congratulations to all of our winners.
