Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council, Inc. Receives Grant to Help Reduce the Number of Uninsured Children
Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council, Inc. Receives Grant to Help Reduce the Number of Uninsured Children
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today named Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council, Inc.as one of the recipients from 38 states, school districts, and local community organizations to participate in an effort to get more eligible children enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council, Inc. will receive a $580,000 Connecting Kids to Coverage grant to enroll eligible children. Today’s awards are designed to build on the historic progress already made increasing the number of children who have health coverage. According to the National Health Interview Survey, only 4.5 percent of children remained uninsured in 2015.
The Connecting Kids to Coverage outreach and enrollment awards will support targeted strategies needed to enroll eligible children who do not have health coverage, including application assistance and targeted outreach. Awardees include states, school districts, and local community organizations from across the country in areas where access to health coverage has been lagging, including among others, American Indians, children with learning disabilities, children living in rural communities, and teens.
“Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the rate of uninsurance for children has declined to its lowest levels on record. Fewer than 1 in 20 children are now uninsured,” said Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell. “Today’s awards will accelerate efforts in communities across America to continue this progress and reach millions of children who are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP but not yet enrolled.”
The latest FY 15 data shows 1,572,483 children are enrolled in either CHIP or Medicaid in Georgia. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has helped increase the number of children who have access to quality, affordable coverage. In addition, 91 percent of eligible children are now enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP, an increase of nearly 10 percentage points since 2008, according to the Urban Institute[1]. These researchers also found that health coverage increased all subgroups of children studied, including among all age groups and in all regions of the country in 2014.
CMS is also releasing today an informational bulletin that highlights existing strategies available to all states to enroll and retain eligible children in Medicaid and CHIP. This information will help all states build on the progress to date to increase the number of children with health coverage.
“Today’s awards will help continue the remarkable progress states and community organizations have made in enrolling eligible children in Medicaid and CHIP,” said Vikki Wachino, deputy administrator and director for the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services. “CMS is excited to support innovative strategies to enroll children and address disparities in coverage that have kept some children from obtaining the benefits of Medicaid and CHIP.”
Having coverage improves children’s health, ability to succeed in school, and other positive outcomes. Recent research shows that these gains are long lasting, with children who gained coverage experiencing better health, higher educational attainment, and higher earnings as adults.
The total of $32 million made possible for the Connecting Kids to Coverage outreach and enrollment funding opportunity is authorized by the bipartisan MACRA legislation. Connecting Kids to Coverage outreach and enrollment funding supports activities aimed at identifying children who are eligible for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and helping their families enroll and renew their coverage. Along with the National Connecting Kids to Coverage Campaign, these activities have helped boost enrollment of eligible children in Medicaid and CHIP. They also have helped to engage a wide range of partners in taking steps to make health coverage outreach and enrollment a part of their routine efforts to ensure the health and security of the nation’s children and their families.
For more information, please visit: http://www.insurekidsnow.gov/professionals/funding/history.html.
More information on the informational bulletin that identifies tools all states can use to enroll and retain eligible children in Medicaid and CHIP can be found here: https://www.medicaid.gov/federal-policy-guidance/federal-policy-guidance.html.