HHS Announces Funds Aimed at Expanding Kids Health Care Coverage
On Monday, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that state governments and community groups can start applying for outreach grants for the Children's Health insurance Program under a new $40 million program aimed at boosting the enrollment of eligible children, HealthLeaders Media reports.
The funds are part of a $100 million outreach-grant provision included in the CHIP reauthorization bill that President Obama signed into law in February (Simmons, HealthLeaders Media, 7/7).
According to an HHS release, the $40 million is the first phase of the funding under the law.
A total of $80 million in grants will be distributed to states and other organizations and the rest will be allocated to other outreach programs. The grants will be awarded by the end of September.
In a conference call with nearly 350 children's health advocates on Monday, Sebelius said the amount each state and organization receives will be based on how creative and feasible their proposals are in enrolling children in underserved areas.
Cindy Mann, director of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations at CMS, said the deadline for electronic applications is Aug. 6 and applications by mail must be received by Aug. 10 (Stephenson, CQ HealthBeat, 7/6).
Sebelius said grants will range from $25,000 to $1 million (Lubell, Modern Healthcare, 7/6). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.