Are you ready to fight flu? As flu season ramps up and the United States continues to confront COVID-19, it is critical to make sure kids get important vaccinations, including a flu vaccine. While flu seasons vary in severity, even a mild season puts children at risk, which is why the CDC recommends a seasonal flu shot for everyone six months and older. Studies show flu vaccines reduce the severity of illness in people who get vaccinated.
As families talk to their health care providers about a flu shot, it is also a good time to catch up on other routine health services. Since the start of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, preventive care visits, including well-child visits, among beneficiaries of Medicaid and CHIP have dropped. During well-child visits, health care professionals check to make sure important developmental milestones are being met and that children receive age-appropriate, recommended immunizations. Medicaid and CHIP, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, not only cover vaccinations, but also cover a wide array of services like preventive care and emergency care, dental and vision care, and mental and behavioral health care.
Find targeted resources to use in your outreach and enrollment efforts in the Outreach Tool Library on InsureKidsNow.gov.
Watch Now: Latest Webinars!
The Connecting Kids to Coverage National Campaign regularly hosts webinars to share the latest tools, resources, and initiatives with partners and grantees. If you have an idea or topic for a future webinar, please submit it to ConnectingKids@cms.hhs.gov.
Recent webinars include:
Using Social Media to Amplify Outreach (9/23): Learn how to leverage different social media platforms to reach eligible families! Watch this webinar for tips that can help your efforts to get families covered under Medicaid and CHIP.
Continuing Medicaid & CHIP Outreach During COVID-19 to Keep Kids Covered and Getting the Health Care Services They Need (10/29): Due to COVID-19, many parents and kids have missed essential appointments and check-ups with their doctor. Hear from experts on the latest data and how to continue Medicaid and CHIP outreach to ensure eligible families are covered.
Spruce Up Your Outreach with New Resources:
In a time where more traditional outreach may be more difficult to implement, social media can serve as an effective method to reach families when and where they are online. The Campaign received feedback from partners and grantees interested in learning about incorporating social media into their outreach and enrollment strategies; highlighted best practices have been incorporated in the Campaign’s Social Media Toolkit .
This toolkit provides information on available social media platforms and efficient methods for reaching more families with children eligible for Medicaid and CHIP. You can find the toolkit and other useful resources in our Outreach Tool Library.
With flu season currently underway, the Campaign has also developed cold & flu resources, including template newsletter articles and social media graphics. Use these tools to inform eligible families that Medicaid and CHIP cover flu vaccines.
Stay Connected with the Campaign
- Share our Campaign materials. Our ever-growing, multi-lingual Outreach Tool Library features a variety of targeted resources to use in your outreach and enrollment efforts, available in multiple formats.
- Contact us. To get more involved with the Campaign, contact us via email at ConnectingKids@cms.hhs.gov.
- Follow the Campaign on Twitter. Remember to re-tweet or share our messages from @IKNGov with your social network and be sure to use our #Enroll365 and #KidsEnroll hashtags in your posts.
Subscribe to the “Campaign Notes” eNewsletter
The Connecting Kids to Coverage National Campaign eNewsletter “Campaign Notes” is distributed throughout the year and provides updates on Campaign activities. If a friend or colleague forwarded this email to you, we invite you to sign up to receive this eNewsletter directly to your inbox.