The funds will be in the form of 36 awarded grants to strengthen Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced through its Centers for Medicare & Medical Services (CMS) that it is awarding grants worth a total of $49 million to organizations working to reduce the rate of uninsured Americans and to bring health care access to more kids and parents alike.
This represents the largest outreach and enrollment effort from the HHS through Connecting Kids to Coverage.
The investment was made in support of the Executive Orders issued by President Joe Biden for Strengthening Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, as well as to align with HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra’s commitment to broaden affordable quality health care access. The grant awards represent the largest investment made by the CMS for outreach and enrollment goals through the Connecting Kids to Coverage program, said an HHS news release.
“At HHS, it is a top priority to make high-quality health care accessible and affordable for every American,” said Becerra. “This past year, through unprecedented investments in outreach and enrollment efforts, a record-breaking 14.5 million people signed up for health care coverage through the ACA Marketplace. With today’s historic investment in Medicaid and CHIP, we will redouble our efforts to get children and parents covered — and give them the peace of mind that comes with it.
Grant recipients will provide assistance for health care enrollment and renewal for kids and parents.
For the first time, this support will also be extended to expectant parents for the purpose of bettering maternal and infant health outcomes.
Thirty-six cooperative agreements were issued by CMS across 20 states by way of the Medicaid Connecting Kids to Coverage program. The recipients include state and local governments as well as federal health safety net organizations, tribal organizations, non-profits and schools. Each one will receive a grant of as much as $1.5 million across a three-year period for advancing Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) retention and new enrollment.
“Ensuring kids and families have health coverage is a key priority for the Biden-Harris Administration. CMS is committed to using all available tools to expand coverage,” said Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, CMS Administrator.