A statewide health advocacy organization has launched a new web site aimed at providing “must have” resources for Kentuckians interested in improving health coverage.

The Kentucky Voices for Health site, www.kyvoicesforhealth.org, offers a number of features designed to help Kentuckians learn about health coverage issues and get involved in changing the policies that affect those issues. Highlights of the site include:

• Recent news concerning developments in health policy and coverage in Kentucky
• Policy briefs about health coverage issues
• Resources for parents searching for health coverage for children and families
• Data and research that provide facts and figures about health care in Kentucky
• An advocates toolkit for citizens interested in getting involved to change health policy
• Online surveys about pressing health issues
• A calendar of health-related events in Kentucky;
• A blog where contributors discuss issues of the day relating to health coverage
• A discussion forum where Kentuckians can make their voices heard and exchange ideas about improving health coverage in the Commonwealth

“This web site offers Kentuckians an exciting new opportunity to learn about proposals to increase the number of people with health coverage,” said coalition member Sheila Schuster, PhD, director of the Advocacy Action Network. “The site also provides the advocacy tools they need to help turn these ideas into reality.”

Kentucky Voices for Health, a broad coalition of health advocates working to improve health and health coverage, was formed in early 2008 with grant support from the Public Welfare Foundation to the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. The coalition’s policy initiatives for 2008-2009 are:

• Significantly increasing the tobacco tax, with a substantial portion of the increased revenue dedicated to improving health coverage and funding smoking prevention and cessation programs.
• Increasing the participation of Kentucky children and families in public sector health coverage by
  • Simplifying enrollment procedures and increasing outreach to the 62,500 children eligible for, but not currently enrolled in, the Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program (KCHIP) or Medicaid.
  • Allowing working parents with incomes at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level to obtain health coverage through Medicaid.
• Increasing private sector health coverage for young adults by monitoring the effect of 2008 legislation requiring insurance companies to offer coverage under family policies for dependent children up to age 25 and supporting other effective strategies for expanding coverage to that age group.

“Kentuckians who want to learn more about these initiatives can find detailed issue briefs on our new web site, starting with papers on the tobacco tax and KCHIP,” said coalition member Rich Seckel, executive director of the Kentucky Equal Justice Center. “There’s also a lot of really practical information for people seeking coverage, and the site gives them the ability to share ideas with knowledgeable advocates through our discussion forums.”

The policy initiatives advocated by Kentucky Voices for Health have been endorsed by representatives of 36 Kentucky organizations to date, said Patrick S. Jeffreys, Kentucky Voices for Health project manager.

“We are in the process of identifying and engaging supporting organizations and local leaders across the state,” Jeffreys said. “Kentuckians are invited to join our advocacy efforts by visiting our new web site and signing the form under the get involved link.” The site also provides the opportunity to sign up for e-mail updates and alerts and for organizations to endorse the Kentucky Voices for Health 2008-2009 initiatives.

The leadership team of Kentucky Voices for Health is composed of representatives from 12 statewide organizations: AARP Kentucky, Advocacy Action Network, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Catholic Conference of Kentucky, Covering Kentucky Kids and Families, Kentucky Child Now, Kentucky Council of Churches, Kentucky Equal Justice Center, Kentucky Youth Advocates, and the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center.