IMPORTANT: Look for your child’s Medicaid or CHIP renewal in the mail, complete it and mail it back immediately. They may be covered even if you’re not! Go to Medicaid.gov/renewals to find contact information for your state Medicaid office.

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Using Social and Paid Media to Extend Medicaid and CHIP Outreach

February 25, 2016

Social and paid media provide a great opportunity to bolster outreach efforts and help your organization reach new audiences – and reach these audiences where there already are spending time online. As you incorporate social and paid media into your enrollment promotion, think about your digital outreach goals and who you are trying to reach. Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, offer a variety of tools to assist your organization as you begin planning. View our recent webinar to learn more about using social and paid media in your 2016 outreach efforts and beyond. Access all past webinars in the webinar archive on InsureKidsNow.gov.

Keep in mind that when it comes to paid media, organizations of all sizes can leverage digital advertising to garner the attention of target audiences, even with a small budget. Social media platforms have simple steps in place to create and purchase advertisements – and select audiences based on a number of factors, including location and income level.

Campaign in Action

Healthy Together Pittsburgh, a program of the City of Pittsburgh and partners, funded through a grant from the National League of Cities, is leveraging digital media to reduce the number of uninsured children in Pittsburgh. Healthy Together was featured on our webinar for using social media and digital paid advertising to increase awareness of the city's health initiative.

By creating new content on the Healthy Together Facebook page and Healthy Together Pittsburgh Twitter, including videos and images, and utilizing existing hashtags like #WellnessWednesday, Healthy Together has successfully engaged audiences. This, coupled with paid advertising, has grown campaign awareness and the number of followers on their social media accounts.

Campaign Resources to Aid Social Media Outreach

The Connecting Kids to Coverage National Campaign has a number of resources you can share across your social media channels including graphics and sample posts. Keep us in the loop of your activities, by including the #Enroll365 hashtag in your posts!

Think Teeth! Promoting Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment and the Dental Benefits They Provide

As organizations work to enroll eligible children in Medicaid or CHIP during National Children's Dental Health Month and beyond, it is important to remind parents that these programs cover children's dental services, such as teeth cleanings, check-ups, x-rays, fluoride, dental sealants and fillings. Availability of these benefits is often a motivating factor for parents to enroll. The Insure Kids Now Dental Provider Locator Tool can help families locate providers that accept Medicaid and CHIP in their area. Click here to download the widget and embed it on your website. There are also a number of "Think Teeth" oral health materials available to use in your outreach. Display a poster at your enrollment events, provide tear-pads or flyers to local health providers or post web buttons and banners on your website. Don't forget! These materials can be customized  with your organization's information – please allow two weeks for customization.