Tag Archives: Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009

Passage of Medicare Access CHIP Reauthorization Act

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4/14/2015

A Statement from First Five Years Fund (FFYF) Executive Director Kris Perry:

In overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion this evening, the U.S. Senate passed the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act by a vote of 92 to 8. This legislation heeds the demands of Republicans and Democrats alike to extend the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program funding through fiscal year 2017, providing $800 million for fiscal years 2016 and 2017.

Today’s action will protect funding for local programs that serve thousands of children and families across the U.S. for years to come. And, importantly, this is another in a long series of bipartisan investments that leaders in Congress have made in early childhood programs in recent years.

The MIECHV program is a federal-state partnership with long-standing bipartisan support in Congress and states due to the programs’ success in strengthening families and providing new parents with the critical skills needed to actively support their child’s early development and education. Law enforcement, business leaders, health professionals, educators and dozens of organizations have called for extending this funding—and Congress heard them loud and clear.

Evidence-based, rigorously evaluated home visiting services have proven to be effective strategies for improving outcomes for at-risk parents and children, while saving public resources over the long-term. When these quality programs are properly implemented, they lead to reduced health care costs, reduced need for remedial education and increased family self-sufficiency.

Source: The First Five Years Fund

Available at: http://ffyf.org/first-five-years-fund-statement-on-the-final-passage-of-the-medicare-access-and-chip-reauthorization-act/

HHS awards $32 million in grants to sign up children for health coverage

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7/2/2013

Today, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced nearly $32 million in grants for efforts to identify and enroll children eligible for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment Grants were awarded to 41 state agencies, community health centers, school-based organizations and non-profit groups in 22 states; two grantees are multistate organizations.

“Today’s grants will ensure that more children across the nation have access to the quality health care they need,” said Secretary Sebelius. “We are drawing from successful children’s health coverage outreach and enrollment efforts to help promote enrollment this fall in Medicaid and the new Health Insurance Marketplace.”

Efforts to streamline Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and renewal practices, combined with robust outreach activities, have helped reduce the number of uninsured children.  Since 2008, 1.7 million children have gained coverage and the rate of uninsured children has dropped to 6.6 percent in 2012.

Grants were made in five focus areas:

  • Engaging schools in outreach, enrollment and retention activities (9 awards);
  • Reducing health coverage disparities by reaching out to subgroups of children that are less likely to have health coverage (8 awards);
  • Streamlining enrollment for individuals participating in other public benefit programs such as nutritional or other assistance programs (3 awards);
  • Improving application assistance resources to provide high quality, reliable Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and renewal services in local communities (13 awards); and
  • Training communities to help families understand the new application and enrollment system and to deliver effective assistance to families with children eligible for Medicaid or CHIP (8 awards).

These awards are part of the $140 million included in the Affordable Care Act and the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) of 2009 for enrollment and renewal outreach.

The grants will build on the Secretary’s Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge to find and enroll all eligible children and support outreach strategies that have been shown to be successful.

Grant amounts range from $190,000 to $1 million. For a list of grantees, please visit: http://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Fact-Sheets/2013-Fact-Sheets-Items/2013-07-02.html

Learn more at http://www.insurekidsnow.gov/

Source: US Department of Health and Human Services

Available at: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2013pres/07/20130702b.html

HHS awards $40 Million in grants to sign up children for health coverage

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8/18/11

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced $40 million in grants for efforts 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.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Available at: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2011pres/08/20110818a.html