The federal government is parceling out nearly $32 million to state health agencies, community health centers, school-based organizations, and nonprofit groups to help identify and enroll children who are eligible for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
The 41 grants, which were spread out among groups in 22 states, range from $190,000 to $1 million.
This is the third time that the Department of Health and Human Services has awarded grants with the aim of boosting enrollment and retention efforts for children in these two programs. In this latest round, money was awarded to states with the largest numbers of children who are eligible for the public health programs but are not yet enrolled. The grant funding comes from the Affordable Care Act.
The grants focus mainly on enrollment and retention efforts in schools, outreach to groups of children who are less likely to have health coverage, improving application assistance in local communities, training community officials to help families understand the new application and enrollment system, and streamlining enrollment for children who are participating in other government programs, such as nutritional assistance.