HEALTHCARE PEACE OF MIND; CARING FOUNDATION PROVIDES MEDICAL COVERAGE FOR UNINSURED CHILDREN

Joyce Lundstrum has battled tonsillitis each winter since she was 10. She is now 16.

When Joyce was sick, her mother treated her fever and sore throat at home.

"I'd pump her full of Tylenol and keep ice on her," Joyce's mother, Josephine Lundstrum, said. "But it usually got worse. When it was really bad, we went to the doctor. That's not the best way to do it."

The Lundstrums put off taking Joyce to the doctor because they didn't want to incur medical bills they wouldn't be able to pay.

But for the past year, when Joyce gets a sore throat, she goes to the doctor right away. Although the Lundstrums still cannot afford to buy medical insurance for their daughter, Joyce is among 1,000 Southeast Missouri children covered through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri's Caring Foundation.

The Caring Foundation, created in 1987, pays for specific, routine medical care for children up to age 19 whose families meet income guidelines. Designated physicians who participate in the program provide care at a reduced cost, said executive director Lee Michelson. Applications are available at Division of Family Service offices.

Families pay nothing because the Caring Foundation foots the entire bill. Administrative costs are paid by Blue Cross Blue Shield and all contributions to the Caring Foundation are matched by the insurance company. The cost for each child is $228 per year or $19 per month.

The program is funded by donations from individuals, businesses and civic and church groups. Anyone may donate.

The number of children who can be helped is limited by the amount of contributions received. Michelson estimated that 10,000 children in the state would qualify for the program.

Josephine Lundstrum said: "We pay our bills the best we can. When you can't pay the bill, you get harassed, and that's not a good feeling."

Joyce's father, Joseph Lundstrum, is a disabled veteran who can no longer work as a mechanic. Josephine Lundstrum works watching an elderly couple each day in their home.

Josephine Lundstrum read about the Caring Foundation in a newspaper article. "I though it can't hurt to try," she said. Joyce was accepted in the program.

"It's a real worthwhile program," Josephine Lundstrum said. "I just thank the Lord I saw that in the paper."

The Lundstrums plan to have Joyce's tonsils removed in the spring.

Michelson said most of the families involved are employed at jobs that don't pay much money and have no benefits. Many are single mothers.

Others are workers who have been laid off and are looking for work. The Caring Foundation can provide medical coverage for their children during the interim.

"These are not the traditional folks getting social services," Michelson said. "For many this is the first time they have received any assistance and many need it only for a short time."

David and Donna Staggs' family falls into this category.

Three years ago David Staggs was attending college full time and his wife was working, but they could not afford insurance.

They applied for Medicaid but didn't qualify. The Division of Family Services caseworker suggested they apply to the Caring Foundation.

The Staggs' three children, Jessica, 9, Brian, 7, and Justin, 11 months, have been covered under the program since 1988.

David Staggs has graduated from college and is now working at Wal-Mart. He is in the process of getting medical coverage for his family through that company. Soon, they will not need the Caring Foundation any more.

"I hope this program can help other people out like it did us," said Donna Staggs.

David Staggs said: "If the kids got sick, we took them to the doctor. But we had to take money from somewhere else to pay. We had to rob Peter to pay Paul."

Once the children were accepted in the Caring Foundation, routine illnesses no longer caused a financial crisis.

"It helped us with two major bills for Jessica," Donna Staggs said. "I don't know how we could have paid those bills."

Michelson said the Caring Foundation was formed because so many children an estimated 300,000 live in households without medical insurance. Those uninsured children add to rising medical costs.

"In addition to a lot of unnecessary suffering, when children don't see a doctor right away, a lot of diseases don't get caught early, when they are easily treated," Michelson said. "That is where the real cost of health care comes in the hospital."

Since these families have no insurance and little income, many cannot afford to pay the bills.

"The physician or hospital is stuck with the cost and shift it to people who can pay, thus driving up medical costs," Michelson said.

Caring Foundation coverage includes doctors' office visits, a complete physical examination, immunizations, routine well-baby care, emergency accident and crisis treatment, diagnostic services, same-day or outpatient surgery, and other outpatient primary care.

The program does not pay for in-patient hospital care or prescription drugs.

Michelson said the Caring Foundation is working to raise money to support additional children in the program.

"I would guess at least 2,000 to 3,000 of those children are in Southeast Missouri," he said.

Those donating money can specify how the money is used by region, gender, age, or even for a specific person in the program.

"There is tremendous peace of mind to know you can take a child to the emergency room or to the doctor, if needed, and not worry about how to pay for it," Michelson said. "That's what the Caring Foundation offers, peace of mind."

For more information, call 1-800-392-8740 or 314-658-4766.