School staff, especially school nurses and teachers, help identify and put the program in touch with potential participants. Mailing labels have been provided by schools to assist with marketing efforts. By including these benefits, the program has enabled families to gain a greater peace of mind with little effect on the program costs. Other state programs have attempted to control claims costs by reducing coverage for pre-existing conditions, inpatient, mental health and transplant services or by raising copayments or deductibles. The Florida program has found that these additional health benefits can be included with little impact on the premium when a thoughtful package with reasonable, affordable copayments is crafted.
Preventive care is crucial to the overall well-being and development of a child.
A child's health has a direct impact on their performance in school. Children who attend school while sick are not mentally or physically prepared to meet the challenges of learning. This becomes much worse for a child who cannot afford to see a doctor and suffers through a disease until it gets better on its own, or until an illness becomes too serious for home-based treatments. This results in less productivity in the classroom and more days absent from school for the child. In fact, the average school age child misses 4 days of school a year due to illness.