CMS Awards $48 Million to Help Enroll Eligible Children in Health Coverage
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) anticipates releasing 39 new cooperative agreement awards, in 25 states, with up to $48 million of available funds from the Helping Ensure Access for Little Ones, Toddlers and Hopeful Youth by Keeping Insurance Delivery Stable Act (HEALTHY KIDS Act). Starting July 1, 2019, these new awards will support efforts to enroll and retain eligible children in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The awards, which will have a 3-year performance period, will continue to support activities aimed at informing families of the availability of free or low-cost health coverage under Medicaid and CHIP, identifying children likely to be eligible, and assisting families with the application and renewal process.
With these latest awards, CMS has made available nearly $210 million, to 285 eligible entities through the Connecting Kids to Coverage program since its inception in 2009. The HEALTHY KIDS 2019 outreach and enrollment awards will provide critical support for the effective and targeted strategies needed to enroll and retain eligible uninsured children in Medicaid and CHIP.
Award Summaries
Alaska: Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation ($1,011,329)
The Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation (BBAHC), a tribally designated nonprofit, is the sole provider of comprehensive primary health care services in the Bristol Bay region of southwest Alaska. They are a first-time grantee to the HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program. BBAHC will enhance its current outreach program to increase the enrollment and retention of children and parents in Medicaid and CHIP. They will hire outreach staff and provide culturally and regionally tailored application and enrollment support to predominantly American Indian and Alaskan Native families. Key strategies include coordinating with the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), the Bristol Bay Native Association, and local school districts for program referrals and providing application assistance services using social media and traveling to remote villages.
Arizona: Arizona Association of Community Health Centers ($1,500,000)
Arizona Association of Community Health Centers (AACHC), a new grantee to the HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program, is a nonprofit that serves as Arizona’s Primary Care Organization. AACHC’s outreach will target the urban counties of Maricopa and Pima and four rural counties, Apache, Navajo, Yuma, and Santa Cruz. AACHC will focus on increasing the enrollment and retention of children and adults in Medicaid and CHIP, especially Hispanic and Native Americans through partnerships with Community Health Centers, navigator organizations and a rural hospital.
Arizona: Family Involvement Center ($1,488,850)
Family Involvement Center, a nonprofit organization, is a new grantee to the HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program. Family Involvement Center will target justice or child-welfare involved families in northern and southern Arizona communities for Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and renewal services. The grantee will offer health promotion and health education to families, assisting them through a health home visit and screening and connecting them with needed resources. By leveraging existing relationships with public schools, the Arizona Department of Child Safety, and the Arizona Departments of Justice and Juvenile Justice, the grantee will utilize parent mentors to build rapport with parents of Medicaid and CHIP eligible children and help them in enrolling their children in these programs.
California: Alameda Health Consortium, Inc. ($1,500,000)
Alameda Health Consortium, Inc., a previous grantee with the Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program, is a nonprofit association of eight Federally Qualified Health Centers that will focus on the enrollment and retention of children eligible for Medicaid and CHIP in Alameda County. Strategies include providing one-on-one application assistance to eligible parents and children at convenient community locations, including member health centers and school-based centers. Alameda Health Consortium will partner with the county’s Medicaid managed care plans and the Community Health Center Network to extend the effectiveness of enrollment and retentions strategies.
California: Community Clinics Health Network ($1,500,000)
Community Clinics Health Network, a previous grantee with the Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program, is a nonprofit organization in San Diego County. The grantee is partnering with six health centers and clinics in San Diego and Riverside Counties to collaborate with schools, community-based organizations, family resource centers, and faith-based groups to expand its outreach and enrollment activities to uninsured children throughout the San Diego metro region. Certified Enrollment Counselors (CECs) will be employed to identify eligible, uninsured children and provide one-to-one direct enrollment assistance to families. Enrollment assistance at health centers will be provided during the day, as well as on evenings and weekends.
California: Family Health Centers of San Diego, Inc. ($1,500,000)
Family Health Centers of San Diego, Inc. (FHCSD), a previous grantee with the Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program, is the largest community clinic health provider of the uninsured in Southern California. Family Health Centers will conduct Medicaid and CHIP outreach and enrollment activities to families in urban regions of San Diego County. The grantee will target messages to these children and families through outreach, and social marketing, and build on longstanding partnerships with schools. They will use community-based enrollment and eligibility specialists to screen and provide application assistance for eligible children at county schools.
California: Northeast Valley Health Corporation ($1,272,439)
The Northeast Valley Health Corporation (NEVHC) is a federally qualified health center serving families residing in Los Angeles County, San Fernando Valley, and Santa Clarita Valley. NEVHC was a previous Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment grantee. NEVHC will work with low to moderate income Latino children and families. Full-time, bilingual Certified Enrollment Counselors will perform Medicaid and CHIP outreach, enrollment, and retention activities at five community health clinics and at multiple partner sites, such as the Boys and Girls Club, schools, and local hospitals. NEVHC will also recruit parents to serve as mentors to other parents and conduct extensive outreach using social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
California: United Health Centers of the San Joaquin Valley ($1,500,000)
United Health Centers of the San Joaquin Valley, a Federally Qualified Health Center with 16 health centers and two school-based clinics, is a new grantee to the HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program. The grantee will focus on uninsured Latino families with limited English proficiency in Fresno, Kings and Tulare Counties. Bicultural Certified Enrollment Counselors will be hired to conduct community outreach to families and implement media campaigns. United Health Centers of the San Joaquin Valley will partner with Fresno Migrant Head Start, school districts, colleges and universities to conduct targeted Medicaid and CHIP outreach.
California: Venice Family Clinic ($665,446)
Venice Family Clinic, a Federally Qualified Health Center in Los Angeles County, is a first- time grantee with the HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program. They will conduct in-reach and outreach at their health centers with a focus on Latino, low-income, and homeless families. They will partner with local schools, and Women, Infants, and Children centers to refer populations to their enrollment specialists. Enrollment specialists will offer bilingual one-on-one assistance for Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and retention. Focused outreach efforts will occur during Back to School events and throughout Covered California Open Enrollment.
Colorado: Tri-County Health Network ($763,437)
Tri-County Health Network, a nonprofit organization, is a new grantee to the HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program. Tri-County Health Network will work with uninsured children and parents who reside in the rural southwest counties of Delta, Ouray, Montrose, and San Miguel in Colorado. Navigators will provide in-person Medicaid and CHIP outreach and enrollment assistance at places within the community, including schools, churches, libraries, food banks, coffee shops, family resource centers, women, infant and children centers, and clinics. Information about Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and Navigator services will be publicized by posting flyers, posting on social media, and placing public service announcements in the local media.
Florida: Community Health of South Florida, Inc. ($974,555)
Community Health of South Florida, Inc. (CHI), a new HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program grantee, is a nonprofit healthcare organization that will work to enroll children in Medicaid and CHIP in southern Miami-Dade County. CHI aims to reduce the number of children and parents who are eligible for, but not enrolled in, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) within targeted, low-income urban neighborhoods. Their outreach and enrollment strategies include in-reach, internal referrals, and warm hand-offs from Community Health’s nine health centers and 35 school-based health centers to further develop the organization’s capacity to screen patients and strengthen community partnerships with targeted childcare, after school and summer camp programs. The grantee will also utilize parent mentors to work with families as part of their enrollment team.
Florida: University of South Florida ($1,500,000)
Florida Covering Kids and Families (FL-CKF) is a community based nonprofit initiative of the College of Public Health at the University of South Florida (USF), and a prior Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program grantee. FL-CKF and its community partners will continue its work in engaging schools, children’s hospitals, urgent care centers and community outreach organizations to reach diverse populations with high rates of uninsurance. Key strategies to address barriers to obtaining insurance coverage include delivering culturally and linguistically sensitive messages, and educational efforts to increase awareness of the opportunity to enroll in Medicaid and CHIP year-round.
Georgia: Saint Joseph's Mercy Care Services, Inc. ($756,263)
Mercy Care, a federally qualified health center, is a new grantee to the HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program. Mercy Care will target Medicaid and CHIP enrollment among homeless, marginally housed, and low-income families in the metropolitan Atlanta area. In addition to their own primary care clinics, staff will work onsite at partner organizations including the City of Atlanta Public Schools, DeKalb County Schools, multisite housing communities, and a youth emergency shelter to provide enrollment assistance, case management, and wraparound support services to help individuals transition to coverage. Mercy Care will conduct health fairs and enrollment information sessions throughout the year, with an emphasis on Marketplace Open Enrolment and Back to School events.
Idaho: Benewah Medical Center ($369,564)
Benewah Medical Health Center, a new grantee in the HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program, is a federally qualified health center owned and operated by the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Nation in northern Idaho. Benewah Medical Center will target enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP in rural Benewah, Kootenai, and Latah counties in Idaho, and in rural Whitman and urban Spokane counties in Washington State. They will conduct outreach through community and school events and activities, focusing on application assistance for Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and renewals.
Idaho: Idaho Primary Care Association ($1,052,869)
Idaho Primary Care Association (IPCA), a first-time grantee to the HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program, is a nonprofit organization comprised of Idaho's sixteen nonprofit community health centers that will increase Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and renewals through its statewide network of community health centers. IPCA will also partner with school-based programs and the food bank to provide information and education to families about enrollment. IPCA will provide training and technical assistance, including cultural competency training for health center staff so they can be more effective in working with Hispanic and immigrant community members.
Indiana: Indiana Rural Health Association ($1,432,603)
Indiana Rural Health Association (IRHA), a nonprofit state-based rural health organization, is a new grantee to the HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program. IRHA will partner with Covering Kids and Families of Indiana, which has contracts with 20 organizations that offer Navigator services in all 92 Indiana counties. Key strategies to increase Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and retention include creating warm handoffs of uninsured families from Covering Kids and Families staff to Navigators, providing enrollment assistance services at schools and libraries, and using culturally sensitive staff to conduct outreach and case management.
Kansas: GraceMed Health Clinic, Inc. ($1,095,889)
GraceMed Health Clinic, Inc., a federally qualified health center, is a new grantee to the HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program. GraceMed will partner with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, health plans, and school districts to enroll children and adults in Medicaid and CHIP and help them retain enrollment They will also partner with the GraceMed Oral Health Program to identify eligible children and parents, provide them with information, education, and referral to a patient navigator to assist them with completing an application. Their bilingual outreach using patient navigators, school-based activities, education and eligibility identification will span 23 rural and six metropolitan counties in Eastern Kansas.
Kentucky: Kentucky Primary Care Association ($1,500,000)
Kentucky Primary Care Association, a nonprofit organization comprised of primary care clinics, rural health clinics, and federally qualified health centers, is a new grantee to the HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program. The grantee will work in partnership with seven-member healthcare organizations that have a high percentage of pediatric patients, and/or operate school-based health centers, and operate in areas with high rates of poverty. Key strategies include hiring Outreach and Enrollment application assisters to help increase enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP, establishing application assistance resources, collaborating with health departments, obstetric and pediatric offices and clinics, attending back to school and health events, faith community events, recreational parks, and fairs.
Maine: Katahdin Valley Health Center ($1,273,659)
Katahdin Valley Health Center is a Federally Qualified Health Center serving families through six clinics in three rural counties in northern Maine. As a new grantee to the HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program, they plan to use outreach and enrollment specialists to meet with parents of uninsured children during clinic appointments to discuss health insurance coverage. Outreach and enrollment specialists will partner with local community agencies, schools, businesses, and faith-based organizations to assist in identifying uninsured children and families. Transportation and translation services will be available to assist families.
Maryland: Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center (ESAHEC) ($1,499,816)
Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center (ESAHEC), a new HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program grantee, is a nonprofit organization that will target children in 13 predominantly rural counties on the Eastern Shore and Southern Maryland, with a specific focus on Latino children. ESAHEC will partner with Structured Employment Economic Development Corporation, a state-funded Health Insurance Navigator, and the Chesapeake Multicultural Center, a nonprofit that provides services to immigrants. ESAHEC will prioritize developing community relationships and referral networks, especially among federally qualified health centers and other health care providers, local government and public benefit officers, public schools, and faith-based organizations. Bilingual Enrollment Counselors and Spanish-language materials will be utilized.
Michigan: Greater Flint Health Coalition, Inc. ($989,624)
The Greater Flint Health Coalition (GFHC), a nonprofit organization, is a previous Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program grantee. Their outreach will target Medicaid and CHIP eligible children, parents, and pregnant women with a focus on Hispanic and Latino families and those for whom English is a second language. GFHC will partner with the Genesee Intermediate School District, the Hamilton Community Health Network, and the Genesee Health Plan in implementing application and renewal assistance services and events at community-based locations. Parent Mentors will be trained to assist in these efforts through peer-to-peer training.
Minnesota: Portico Healthnet ($880,617)
Portico Healthnet, a nonprofit organization, is a previous Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program grantee. Portico Healthnet will focus on poorer communities in the seven county Twin Cities metro area by conducting outreach activities with school partners, staff, and school-based health clinics to offer enrollment support. Portico Healthnet will access school districts’ established family communication channels to reach children and parents who are eligible for Medicaid and CHIP. Key strategies include hiring Navigators to work with existing partnerships with more than 400 clinics, organizations and service providers that include school districts, faith communities, dental clinics, social service agencies, women and infant children programs, and correctional facilities who serve low-income, uninsured, immigrants, and children to help them access health care coverage.
Mississippi: Oak Hill Regional Community Development Corporation ($1,498,782)
Oak Hill Regional Community Development Corporation, a faith-based nonprofit organization, is a new grantee to the HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program. Through this project, Oak Hill will educate families throughout Mississippi about the availability of free or low-cost health coverage under Medicaid and CHIP, identify children likely to be eligible for these programs and assist families with the application and renewal process. Oak Hill will partner with the state-wide collaborative, Get Covered Mississippi (GCMS) to enroll eligible uninsured children and adults in local communities, improve Medicaid and CHIP retention, and build the capacity of health ambassadors to assist in these efforts.
Missouri: Legal Services of Eastern Missouri ($671,471)
Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, a legal aid organization, will focus on uninsured and homeless children in school districts within the St. Louis metropolitan area and children living in immigrant families in eastern Missouri with low participation rates in Medicaid and CHIP. This organization was a previous grantee of the Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program and will continue previous key strategies such as strengthening relationships with school districts and school health staff, identifying new school districts and community partners who serve eligible children, training school nurses and homeless enrollment coordinators about Medicaid and CHIP eligibility and identification of children for enrollment and renewal assistance.
New Jersey: HOPES Community Action Partnership, Incorporated ($613,292)
HOPES Community Action Partnership Incorporated, a nonprofit organization, is a previous Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program grantee. They will focus on uninsured families in Hudson and Somerset Counties, and the City of Plainfield in northern New Jersey and will use three full-time, bilingual application assistors to provide Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and renewal assistance. HOPES will continue with its strategies of disseminating information through videos, text messages, and social media and its extensive use of community partnerships that include local businesses, hospitals, housing authorities, childcare providers, municipal health departments, food banks, grocers, shelters, health clinics, pediatricians, pharmacies, public school districts, immigration assistance programs, and the United Way.
New Jersey: Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services ($1,500,000)
The New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services, is a previous Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program grantee. They will use these funds to enhance prior outreach, enrollment, and retention efforts in Medicaid and CHIP by creating a new web-based portal where parents or guardians of potentially eligible children identified by schools or by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program can access a program application that has been pre-populated with their information, facilitating its submission and eligibility determinations. The Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services will also provide training and resources for providers that make Medicaid or CHIP presumptive eligibility determinations for children and parents and outreach to their parents or guardians so that they can easily transition to permanent program coverage.
New York: Health Research, Inc. ($1,499,994)
Health Research, Inc., a nonprofit organization affiliated with the New York State Department of Health, is a new grantee to the HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program. Medicaid and CHIP outreach and enrollment assistance will focus on rural St. Lawrence and Oneida Counties, which have the highest number of uninsured children in the state. They will work with 32 school districts and school nurses to identify uninsured children and will work collaboratively with the New York State Education Department to establish a formal referral process for children by requesting additional health insurance information through the National School Lunch Program application. They will hire eight Navigators to provide targeted outreach and enrollment assistance for uninsured children and their parents in both counties and target Native American children residing on the Oneida Indian Nation Reservation.
North Carolina: North Carolina Community Health Center Association ($1,500,000)
North Carolina Community Health Center Association, the state’s primary care association, is a new HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program grantee. The grantee will partner with six of its Federally Qualified Health Centers and the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy to conduct outreach to children and families in 21 counties across North Carolina. Collaborating partners will leverage existing relationships with community organizations and practices to identify children who may be eligible for Medicaid and CHIP. They will also expand their outreach efforts by making eligibility and enrollment trainings available to all FQHCs in its network and provide resources to partner organizations.
Pennsylvania: Maternal and Child Health Consortium ($1,500,000)
Maternal and Child Health Consortium is a nonprofit organization serving Chester, Philadelphia, Delaware, Montgomery, and Pennsylvania counties. As a prior grantee in the Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program, this grantee will continue its previous work to enroll children and adults in Medicaid and CHIP, with a focus on Hispanic and immigrant children, who are more likely to be uninsured than their peers. They will provide education and support to children, parents, expectant mothers and newborns through bilingual and culturally appropriate enrollment support.
Tennessee: Family & Children's Service ($1,500,000)
Family & Children’s Service is a nonprofit organization that will partner with Metro Nashville Public Schools, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, and the Tennessee Justice Center to provide application and renewal assistance to eligible children and their parents through outreach and education to raise awareness of Medicaid and CHIP eligibility. Using Navigators, Family & Children’s Service will focus on Hispanic and Latino populations, immigrants and refugees, Limited English Proficiency groups, teens, and families in rural areas throughout the state. Family & Children’s Service is a new HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program grantee.
Tennessee: Structured Employment Economic Development Corp. ($1,493,466)
Structured Employment Economic Development Corp (Seedco). Seedco, a previous Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program grantee, is a national nonprofit organization that will target Shelby and Tipton Counties, which includes the city of Memphis. The project will focus on enrolling children of young parents, Latino children, children living in rural areas, and children whose parents have less than a high school diploma. Seedco will partner with county and community-based organizations such as health departments, a child welfare agency, a charter school system, the YMCA of Greater Memphis, and Latino Memphis to assist with organizing presentations, identifying eligible individuals, and providing screening spaces. Seedco will hire Enrollment Assisters from the local communities, including at least one bilingual Spanish-speaking enrollment assister to conduct outreach and provide enrollment assistance within the community.
Texas: Bexar County Hospital District ($1,499,897)
Bexar County Hospital District, a previous grantee with the Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program, is a safety-net health system that operates an acute care hospital and has an extensive network of community outpatient and inpatient facilities throughout Bexar County, including school-based clinics. Bexar County Hospital District will work with pediatric medical staff at sites to educate parents about the importance of healthcare coverage for themselves and their children and provide referrals for follow-up screening and eligibility services. The grantee will be partnering with several independent school districts to increase the enrollment and retention of children in Medicaid and CHIP through outreach activities and application assistance at schools, churches, housing sites, primary care clinics, school-based clinics, and other public locations that serve families. Trained staff will provide one-on-one enrollment assistance in multiple languages.
Texas: Children's Defense Fund ($940,572)
CDF Texas, a previous grantee with the Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program, will implement outreach efforts to uninsured children, with a focus on Hispanic children residing in three counties in the Rio Grande Valley and four rural counties in East Texas. CDF Texas will focus on training school districts, Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) clinics, child- care providers, and other children’s organizations to identify parents/caretakers with eligible children and provide them with Medicaid and CHIP enrollment assistance. CDF Texas will also pilot an initiative to train parents familiar with Medicaid and CHIP to serve as mentors to parents of uninsured children. Parent mentors will be educated on assisting parents with the enrollment process, selecting a health plan, and identifying a medical home for their children.
Texas: Light and Salt Association ($1,196,538)
Light and Salt Association (LSA), a community-based organization, is a new HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program grantee. This project, led by LSA, is a joint effort of seven Asian American community-based organizations and a health center to implement culturally and linguistically appropriate assistance and public education for Asian Americans needing help enrolling in Medicaid and CHIP programs in the Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Austin metropolitan areas. Key strategies include in-person enrollment assistance and helpline services, developing a unified message program, outreach and education conducted via media campaigns, workshops, newspapers, and health fairs.
Texas: Lone Star Legal Aid (1,154,002)
Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA), a previous Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program grantee, is a nonprofit organization that will focus their efforts on children in eight counties along the Texas East Gulf Coast in Harris, Fort Bend, Galveston, Brazoria, Jefferson, Matagorda, Wharton, and Chambers counties. Outreach efforts will focus on Spanish and Vietnamese-speaking people with Limited English Proficiency, children in rural communities, homeless youth, and youth aging out of foster care. LSLA will provide one-on-one Medicaid and CHIP enrollment, renewal, and retention services at schools, teen pregnancy centers, early childhood centers, food banks, community health clinics, health departments and neighborhood centers. Information will be distributed through targeted mailings, social media messaging, television, newspaper, and radio.
Texas: MHP Salud ($1,494,940)
MHP Salud, a national nonprofit organization, is a new HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program grantee. Their project will focus on increasing the number of eligible Latino families enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP in Hidalgo, Cameron, Starr, and Willacy Counties of Texas. Community Health Workers will lead community-based outreach activities, distribute flyers and brochures, talk with community members, and provide one-on-one enrollment assistance at community centers, health fairs, libraries, and other public sites. Radio ads will be used to get information into the community about Medicaid and CHIP enrollment during the back-to-school season.
Utah: Utah Health Policy Project ($1,258,866)
The Utah Health Policy Project, a nonprofit organization, is a new HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program grantee. The grantee will focus on enrolling uninsured children in Medicaid and CHIP in Salt Lake, Summit, and Utah counties, with plans to expand to four additional counties. Outreach strategies include bringing together Health Access Assisters, Navigators, and Certified Application Counselors to organize outreach events, give presentations, distribute flyers, and canvas small and large businesses and community organizations. Partners include Title I schools, Latino/Hispanic media outlets, local chambers of commerce, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, school districts, correctional centers, libraries, and religious organizations. Four sub-grantees will assist with outreach efforts: Community Health Connect, Alliance Community Services, Health Access Project, and Utah Community Action.
Virginia: Virginia Health Care Foundation ($1,441,096)
Virginia Health Care Foundation, a nonprofit organization, will continue its efforts as a prior Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program grantee and work to increase Medicaid and CHIP enrollment in communities with below average enrollment. The grantee will target Fairfax, Prince William, Arlington, and Henrico counties and the cities of Alexandria, Richmond, and Norfolk. The Foundation will work with schools, healthcare providers, public housing communities, and other community organizations in these seven Virginia localities to provide Medicaid and CHIP application, enrollment, and retention assistance to parents/caretakers through trained Application Assisters.
Washington: Better Health Together ($1,151,307)
Better Health Together, a new grantee with the HEALTHY KIDS Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment program, is targeting seven predominantly rural eastern counties, Adams, Ferry, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, and Whitman in Washington. The grantee’s focus is to increase Medicaid and CHIP enrollment among American Indian/Alaska Native, Marshallese, and Hispanic children by enlisting parent mentors to help parents in getting insurance coverage and accessing community resources. Better Health Together will work with school districts to conduct school-related outreach and enrollment throughout the year, with special focus during Back to School events. They will use culturally relevant materials to help eligible individuals enroll in Medicaid and CHIP through partnerships with regional community-based organizations, churches, government programs, and employers.
Background: Connecting Kids to Coverage Funding
Current Funding
The Helping Ensure Access for Little Ones, Toddlers and Hopeful Youth by Keeping Insurance Delivery Stable (HEALTHY KIDS) Act provided $120 million for activities aimed at reducing the number of children who are eligible for, but not enrolled in, Medicaid and CHIP, and improving retention of enrolled children. Of the total $120 million in funding, 10 percent, or $12 million, is set aside for outreach to American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) children and another 10 percent is set aside for the National Campaign. The remaining, $96 million, will support grant awards for outreach and enrollment of uninsured children and their parents. On June 19, 2019, CMS announced approximately $48 million in cooperative agreement awards for 39 organizations. An additional $48 million in funding from the HEALTHY KIDS Act will be made available in a subsequent funding opportunity. Eligible entities awarded cooperative agreements include state and local governments, Indian tribes, tribal consortium, urban Indian organizations receiving funds under title V of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, federal safety net organizations, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, and schools.
Previous Funding
Connecting Kids to Coverage outreach and enrollment funding was first included under the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-3), furthered under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-148) and then continued under The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). Of the total amount of funding allocated for outreach and enrollment, 10 percent supports the National Campaign and 10 percent is set aside for grants to Indian tribes, tribal health care providers and other tribal organizations. The remaining 80 percent, in the appropriation, supported funding for outreach and enrollment activities in states and local communities.