Changing Perceptions

This month, my AmeriCorps service landed me a spot on primetime local television to help kids across Jacksonville get enrolled in health insurance as a part of the “Cover Jacksonville” grant campaign. As I walked onto the set of the WJXT Channel 4 News Station, I was expecting to enter the extraordinary world you always see on TV, the perfect, untouchable world that had always fascinated me as a child. But when I finally saw the phone bank desk where I would be helping answer calls from parents interested in Florida KidCare, I was shocked to find that it wasn’t perfect, and wasn’t even a desk at all. I only had to stand six feet away to see that it was made out of a few rickety pieces of wood that had been painted and glossed over.

I was struck by the fact that this “desk” was really just a makeshift prop, not at all what it’s perceived to be across the television screen. In the same way, a health insurance program can be, in reality, a low-cost means for getting access to health-care, but people on the other side of the screen may not see it for what it is. So many families are uninterested, mistrustful, or uninformed when it comes to getting their kids enrolled in a subsidized insurance program meant to improve and protect their children’s health. But that’s where Cover Jacksonville’s campaign efforts come in.

A poll at the beginning of the year showed that of the 25,000 uninsured children living in Duval County, 16,000 qualified for Florida KidCare. The City of Jacksonville, in conjunction with the Jacksonville Children’s Commission, recently received a grant to decrease the number of uninsured children by 20% by December 2015. That means that at least 3,200 children’s families must be informed through the media and other outreach efforts and also helped through the application process. This phone bank was just one part of Cover Jacksonville’s massive and multi-faceted campaign to chip away at the appalling lack of health insurance of our county.

I felt elated when I talked to a grandfather that grew increasingly excited about getting health insurance for his newly born and fragile grandson. He hadn’t realized that his family had access to the affordable sliding scale of Florida KidCare. As the talking heads on TV began to spread the word, these families decided to call us, and were so excited when someone picked up the phone and enabled them to take action for their children’s well-being. In total, we collected over 250 names and corresponding contact information in the two hours of our television promotion. I can’t say how many parents still don’t know about KidCare, but the campaign isn’t over. This year, I’m here to challenge and change the perceptions that contribute to the lack of insurance coverage and ultimately the health disparities in Duval County.

This post was written by NFHC member Shayla Menagi.

Shayla serves at Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida as a Health Insurance Outreach Coordinator.