The Federal Government wants to make sure all children have the health care they need. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is dedicating $40 million in grants to programs designed to identify and enroll children eligible for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Grants were awarded to 39 state agencies, community health centers, school-based organizations and non-profit groups in 23 states. The two-year grants are authorized under the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) of 2009.
HHS says the program will help keep Americans healthy from a young age and, in turn, save money by avoiding preventable diseases and conditions as they get older. The grants will build on the Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge to find and enroll all eligible children and support outreach strategies that have been shown to be successful.
The grants will be used to develop technology to facilitate enrollment and renewal, retain eligible children in coverage, engage schools in outreach, enrollment and renewal activities, reach children who are most likely to experience gaps in coverage and ensure eligible teens are enrolled and stay covered.
According to HHS, grant amounts range from $200,000 to $2.5 million with the largest grants going to the technology focus area.