San Francisco Business Times Profiles Health-e-App Online Enrollment Program
The San Francisco Business Times this week profiles Health-e-App, a program developed by the California HealthCare Foundation that allows families to apply for public health insurance for their children over the Internet. CHCF developed Health-e-App, which streamlines the application process for Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, to increase enrollment in the programs. "We all bear the burden of paying for the uninsured, and California has a million children who are eligible for assistance," CHCF Chief Information Officer Sam Karp said (Walker, San Francisco Business Times, 4/19). State residents who use Health-e-App can complete an online application for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families, rather than a lengthy paper application that they would have to mail to the state. Health-e-App informs applicants whether they qualify for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families in a few seconds. In the past, applicants had to wait several weeks to learn whether they qualified for the programs (California Healthline, 1/24/01). CHCF has licensed Health-e-App to the state at no cost, and the state piloted the program in San Diego County. Arun Baheti, the state director of e-government, said that officials are working to expand the program statewide (San Francisco Business Times, 4/19).
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