LaCHIP Touts Decline In Uninsured Children
by Melody Brumble - Shreveport Times (excerpt)

In February, when Joey Muniz lost his job managing a small business, his family's health insurance was lost, too.

He and his wife, Rachael, didn't want their son, Logan, to be without coverage, so they turned to the Louisiana Children's Health Insurance Program (LaCHIP). It paid off when Logan, now 21 months old, had to spend time in the hospital a month ago because he was running a high fever.

Logan is among more than 8,200 children enrolled in the program in the northwest Louisiana region since the beginning of December.

State health officials credit LaCHIP with helping make Louisiana's rate of insured children significantly lower than the national average. LaCHIP debuted in 1999.

A national health insurance survey based on 2005-06 data shows 3.9 percent of Louisiana children are without health insurance, compared with a 9.3 percent national average.