Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provide health coverage for nearly half of the children in the United States; as of August 2023, 40.3 million children were enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP, representing 44.8% of total Medicaid and CHIP enrollment. With health coverage through Medicaid and CHIP, kids and teens up to age 19 can get access to preventive and emergency care, mental and behavioral health care, dental services, vision care, and prescriptions. Plus, pregnant individuals are also covered during and after pregnancy, and their baby will be automatically enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP at birth. With the help from partners and community organizations, we can keep families across the nation educated about the benefits of Medicaid and CHIP so they can start the new year on a healthy note.
Partnership Spotlight: AASA, The School Superintendents Association
Partnerships with national and local organizations are integral to furthering the Connecting Kids to Coverage (CKC) National Campaign mission. Partners play a major role in sharing information about Medicaid and CHIP health coverage with families and helping eligible families in communities across the country enroll. Many of the Campaign’s partners have created their own unique materials and strategies to aid in this outreach that may be of interest to other partners. This month, we are excited to spotlight an organization – AASA, The School Superintendents Association – that has been helping to advance enrollment and retention in Medicaid and CHIP.
AASA is the membership organization for more than 10,000 school administrators dedicated to providing leaders with professional development and resources to help their schools thrive. They also serve as the national voice for public education and district leadership on Capitol Hill. AASA is committed to the health and wellbeing of students and their families. They advocate for equitable access for all students to the highest quality of public education.
AASA has several resources across the spectrum of K-12 education, including toolkits for school leaders and their PEP Talk podcasts. Some of these AASA resources include references to CKC materials that are focused on connecting students to health coverage because students who have health insurance are better equipped for school and miss fewer days than those who are not covered. Thus, it’s important for families to understand the options available under Medicaid and CHIP.
In addition to their support of the CKC Back-to-School initiative, AASA has developed their own Medicaid Unwinding toolkit to support parents, teachers, and school leaders to support families during the Unwinding of the Medicaid Continuous Enrollment Requirement. This robust toolkit includes email templates for schools, educational graphics, social media posts, call scripts, website banners, blog posts, and newsletter content. This toolkit also includes English and Spanish eligibility fact sheets to guide school leaders on Unwinding messaging.
The Campaign wants to thank AASA for being a valued partner and for their work to get kids and their families covered with Medicaid and CHIP!
A Reminder About Renewing Medicaid and CHIP as 2023 Comes to a Close
Over the second half of 2023, CMS and states have been focused on helping families renew Medicaid and CHIP coverage. It is important that families know they need to renew coverage annually, so they don’t risk a lapse in coverage. Even if none of their personal information has changed, families are still required to renew their coverage annually. There are two steps families can take to avoid a lapse in coverage:
- Update their contact information with their local state Medicaid office to ensure they receive renewal information.
- Check their mailbox regularly, fill out any renewal information received, and return it right away.
As states return to normal operations following the public health emergency, it is estimated that up to 15 million people could potentially lose their current Medicaid or CHIP coverage. CMS and state offices are working together to inform people about renewing their coverage and exploring other health insurance options if they no longer qualify for Medicaid or CHIP. Please continue to remind families to renew their coverage.
CMS has a new drop in article in English and Spanish for people who lost Medicaid; this article can be used for listservs, newsletters, and other outreach resources to educate people about what to do if they have been disenrolled from Medicaid or CHIP. And there are postcards available in Ukrainian, Dari, and Pashto to help people get ready to renew their Medicaid or CHIP coverage. You can find these postcards and other translated materials here.
Watch Now: “Improving Access to Health Care Coverage in Rural Communities with Medicaid and CHIP” Webinar
On November 9, the Campaign held a webinar focused on important strategies, resources, and best practices for rural community outreach and enrollment and addressing health equity challenges. Speakers from CMS and the National Rural Health Association discussed the importance of partnerships, provided actionable tools, and shared outreach materials from the Campaign’s rural health initiative.
If you want to view the webinar or use the resources shared, you can access the webinar slides and recording here. We encourage you to share the webinar with colleagues and others in your community and attend our next webinar!
Upcoming Observances
- National Birth Defects Awareness/Prevention Month (December)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder Month (December)
- National Safe Toys and Gifts Month (December)
- National Birth Defects Prevention Month (January)
- Maternal Health Awareness Day (January 23)
- National Children’s Dental Health Month (February)
Stay Connected with the Campaign
- Share our Campaign materials. Our ever-growing, Outreach Tool Library features a variety of targeted resources to use in your outreach and enrollment efforts, available in multiple formats and languages.
- Contact us. To get more involved with the Campaign, contact us via email at ConnectingKids@cms.hhs.gov.
- Follow the Campaign on X (formally 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.