CMS Awards Nearly $6 Million in Funding for Nine New Connecting Kids to Coverage HEALTHY KIDS American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) 2020 Outreach and Enrollment Cooperative Agreements
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced 9 new Connecting Kids to Coverage HEALTHY KIDS AI/AN 2020 Outreach and Enrollment Cooperative Agreement awards, in 6 states. These awards are authorized under the Helping Ensure Access for Little Ones, Toddlers and Hopeful Youth by Keeping Insurance Delivery Stable Act (HEALTHY KIDS) with the purpose to increase the participation of eligible, uninsured AI/AN children in Medicaid and CHIP. Total funding for the 9 cooperative agreement awards is just under $6 million. These awards have a 3-year performance period.
With these latest awards, CMS has now made available nearly $216 million in funding to 294 eligible entities through the Connecting Kids to Coverage (CKC) program since its inception in 2009. The CKC HEALTHY KIDS AI/AN 2020 outreach and enrollment awards will provide critical support for the effective and targeted strategies needed to enroll and retain eligible uninsured AI/AN children in Medicaid and CHIP.
Award Summaries
Alaska: Southcentral Foundation (up to $750,000 over 3 years)
Southcentral Foundation (SCF), a previous grantee with the Connecting Kids to Coverage AI/AN Outreach and Enrollment program, is an Alaska Native owned and managed nonprofit health care organization that provides services for 65,000 Alaska Natives and American Indians. SCF will target children and families in Anchorage and rural communities in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley. SCF will expand its current outreach and enrollment activities by collaborating with community partners to incorporate screening and outreach into their routine activities for eligible, uninsured children. SCF’s key partners include youth training centers, youth and homeless shelters, schools, tribal programs, public assistance centers, churches, and libraries.
Arizona: Fort Defiance Indian Hospital Board, Inc. (up to $749,999 over 3 years)
Fort Defiance Indian Hospital Board, Inc. (FDIHB), a new grantee with the Connecting Kids to Coverage AI/AN Outreach and Enrollment program, is a nonprofit health care organization that operates health facilities in Fort Defiance and Sanders. FDIHB will target AI/AN families in rural areas for Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) outreach and enrollment. FDIHB will develop an internal referral system within its health centers to identify and enroll uninsured, eligible children. Additionally, FDIHB will recruit parents to build rapport and serve as mentors to other parents and help them enroll their children in Medicaid and CHIP. FDIHB will conduct outreach by collaborating with community partners such as schools, the Navajo Nation Head Start, health departments, and chapters of the Bureau of Indian Education.
Arizona: Native Health (up to $585,072 over 3 years)
Native Health, a previous grantee with the Connecting Kids to Coverage AI/AN Outreach and Enrollment program, is a nonprofit Urban Indian health care organization that provides primary care and behavioral health to AI/AN families in the metropolitan Phoenix area. Native Health will expand their outreach and enrollment strategies by recruiting parent mentors from adults who have received services from Native Health and pair them with outreach and enrollment specialists. The parent mentors will provide a connection with Native Health target communities and assist Medicaid- and CHIP-eligible families apply and obtain coverage. Culturally sensitive program materials will be developed with guidance from local steering committees comprising AI/AN consumers and advocates.
California: Indian Health Council, Inc. (up to $750,002 over 3 years)
Indian Health Council, Inc. (IHC), a previous grantee with the Connecting Kids to Coverage AI/AN Outreach and Enrollment program, is a health care consortium of nine federally recognized tribes in San Diego County. IHC will partner with schools primarily serving AI/AN students and provide outreach and enrollment assistance to families eligible for Medicaid, CHIP, or state health insurance coverage. Outreach strategies include collaborating with community partners such as day care centers, youth groups, intertribal sports, health providers, and children’s hospitals. IHC will build rapport with parents and children by attending community-based cultural and health events and providing health coverage information, education, and enrollment assistance.
Minnesota: Indian Health Board of Minneapolis (up to $620,000 over 3 years)
The Indian Health Board of Minneapolis (IHBM), a Federally Qualified Health Center, provides comprehensive health care to urban American Indians in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area. IHMB is a first-time grantee with the Connecting Kids to Coverage AI/AN Outreach and Enrollment program. IHMB will identify eligible and enrolled Medicaid and CHIP families within their health center and offer enrollment and renewal assistance. IHBM also will focus on school- and community-based outreach by engaging partners to promote Medicaid and CHIP coverage. Key community partners include an urban housing complex focused on serving AI individuals, tribal urban offices, the Indian Health Board, and an emergency shelter for runaway and homeless AI youth.
Nevada: Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribe (up to $297,533 over 3 years)
The Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribe (the Tribe), a federally recognized tribe of Northern Paiute and Western Shoshone Indians in Churchill County, is a new grantee with the Connecting Kids to Coverage AI/AN Outreach and Enrollment program. The Tribe will focus on the enrollment and retention of children eligible for Medicaid and CHIP in the Fallon Pointe Shoshone, Lovelock Paiute, and Yomba Shoshone tribes served by the Fallon Tribal Health Center. The Tribe will provide one-on-one enrollment assistance and will travel to assist families in rural communities with applications. Strategies include collaborating with partners such as community-based tribal organizations, public schools, the Head Start Program, and Youth and Family Services to provide outreach and application assistance to eligible, uninsured children.
Oklahoma: Cherokee Nation (up to $750,000 over 3 years)
The Cherokee Nation, a previous grantee with the Connecting Kids to Coverage AI/AN Outreach and Enrollment Program, is the largest federally recognized Native American tribe. The Cherokee Nation operates the Cherokee Nation Health System which includes 8 health centers and aims to reduce the rate of uninsured Cherokee children by engaging Patient Benefit Coordinators located within the community health centers throughout the reservation to assist families with enrollment and renewal at community events. Building on their previous work, Patient Benefit Coordinators will collaborate with the Medicaid program’s Call Center to provide remote enrollment and renewal over the telephone. The Cherokee Nation also will implement a comprehensive media campaign that uses parent and grandparent mentors to provide education and promote awareness of the importance of health care coverage.
Oklahoma: The Chickasaw Nation (up to $749,999 over 3 years)
The Chickasaw Nation (CN), a federally recognized tribe, is a first-time grantee with the Connecting Kids to Coverage AI/AN Outreach and Enrollment program and manages the Chickasaw Nation Department of Health and corresponding health facilities. A CN outreach team will promote enrollment and provide application assistance at community events—including back-to-school events, the week-long annual CN meeting and festival, and the Women, Infants, and Children’s annual farmer’s market celebration—throughout the CN service area. The team also will work with CN Child Development Centers and the CN Head Start Program to conduct outreach and enrollment activities with parents and their children. Additionally, informational messages will be advertised on local radio stations, on billboards, and through pamphlets inserted in health center appointment letters and pharmacy sacks from CN Division of Health facilities.
Oklahoma: Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (up to $726,993 over 3 years)
The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO), a federally recognized tribe, is a previous Connecting Kids to Coverage AI/AN Outreach and Enrollment program grantee. CNO has the second largest tribal service area in the lower 48 states providing health services through the Choctaw Nation Health Service Authority. CNO will continue its data-sharing and enrollment agreement with the Oklahoma Health Care Authority to access the state portal for real-time enrollment for eligible AI/AN children. Trained staff will conduct specialized education, outreach, and on-site enrollment assistance at community-based events, such as the Choctaw Nation’s Labor Day Festival. Benefits Enrollment Coordinators will provide online assistance at Tribal Community Centers and use information from the Choctaw Nation Health Service Administration hospital, clinics, and pharmacy to contact families individually and provide one-one-one education, enrollment, and renewal assistance over the telephone.