HHS Announces $40 Million in Grants to Enroll Children in Medicaid, CHIP - August 24, 2011

Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced on Aug. 18 that HHS would award $40 million in grant money to help enroll more children in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The funding is authorized under the Child Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009. Recipients include state agencies, community health centers, school-based organizations and nonprofit organizations in 23 states; grants will range from $200,000 to $2.5 million. The funds, which build off the Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge, are to be used in five specific areas: 1) technology to assist with enrollment and renewal; 2) retention of children already covered; 3) school outreach; 4) assistance for children likely to experience gaps in coverage and 5) outreach specifically for teens. HHS noted that current efforts at enrollment and outreach appear to be working, as an Aug. 18 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report showed that the number of children eligible for, but not enrolled in, CHIP or Medicaid decreased by roughly 340,000 between 2008 and 2009.