Last June, I announced HealthStat, a comprehensive, citywide initiative to provide uninsured New Yorkers with access to existing health insurance programs. Now you may be noticing our new HealthStat ad campaign with the slogan, "You Supply the Love, We'll Supply the Health Insurance," which is appearing in subways, on buses and bus shelters, as well as in newspapers and on the radio.

The ads promote a new automated touch-tone phone line - 1-888-NYC-6116 - that you can call to find out if you and your children are eligible for free or low-cost health coverage through Medicaid and Child Health Plus. If you or your children appear to be eligible for health coverage, the phone line will refer you to an agency in your community that will help you complete the application process.

You can call the automated phone line 24 hours a day, seven days a week or, if you want to speak directly with an English or Spanish-speaking counselor, you can call Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Starting next year, the phone line will be available in Russian, Haitian Creole and Chinese as well.

You may be surprised. Many families are eligible for coverage and don't know it - even working families. Additionally, children are eligible for health insurance regardless of their immigration status. Even undocumented children are eligible. This is a very vulnerable group that it is particularly important to enroll.

A City employee may already have approached you about children's health insurance. Over 5,000 City employees and staff of community organizations have been trained to reach out to families and refer them to places where they can get health coverage. School nurses, firemen, housing development employees, and many others are working throughout the city encouraging families to sign up their children for health coverage.

The $2 million ad campaign is sponsored by the City and the Healthcare Education Project, a partnership of 1199/SEIU and the Greater New York Hospital Association. The ads appear in English and Spanish.

Expanding access to health insurance is one of the most important ways the City can improve the lives of New Yorkers. Approximately 1.5 million low-income New Yorkers lack health care coverage. Of those, at least 900,000 - of whom one-third are children and two-thirds are working - are likely eligible for free or low-cost health coverage through existing federal and state health care plans. The initial focus of HealthStat is to enroll over 325,000 children in New York City who are uninsured but qualify for free or low-cost coverage.

It is important for children to see a doctor even when they are not sick. Youngsters who see a doctor regularly are more likely to get their immunizations on time and get the other care they need to grow up healthy, including hearing and eye exams. In contrast, children without access to regular health care are 25% more likely to miss school.

The goal of this awareness campaign is to continue to expand health insurance to all New York families. We believe that HealthStat will be critical in helping us make sure that our city's children and their parents receive the insurance and the quality care they deserve.