Outreach and Enrollment

The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) of 2009 included $100 million in outreach funding to be made available between FY 2009 and FY 2013. This amount includes:

• $10 million for a national outreach campaign
• $10 million in grants for Indian Tribes and health care providers that serve Tribes
• $80 million in grants to community-based organizations, states, community health centers, faith-based organizations, school districts and Tribal organizations

These grants will be used to promote enrollment and retention in Medicaid and CHIP.

The first $40 million in grant funds was awarded on September 30, 2009. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) got over 400 applications, and awarded 69 grants that will distribute the $40 million across 42 states and the District of Columbia. For a complete list of grantees, see 2009 Cycle I Outreach Grantees [545 KB,PDF].

The grant awards were based on merit ranking, with consideration to geographic distribution and innovation. Of the 69 grantees, 49 are individual organizations or states, and 20 are groups of entities working together as consortiums. Many of the consortiums include the CHIP or Medicaid agency in that state, and 78% percent are public, non-profit entities.

The grantees have two years to spend the grant funds and will be expected to report enrollment data and other information to evaluate the success at enrolling and retaining children in health insurance coverage.

Resources:

• Children's Coverage Toolkit
  
• New Report from the Children’s Partnership, “Why Express Lane Eligibility Makes Sense for States and Low-Income Families”