HHS doles out $206M to states for enrolling kids in Medicaid
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has awarded $206 million in bonus payments to 15 sates that have made significant progress in increasing the number of children enrolled in Medicaid.
Funding for the performance bonuses was included in the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization (CHIPRA) legislation signed into law in February 2009. CHIPRA established two sets of performance goals that states must meet to qualify for a bonus: taking specific steps to streamline enrollment and renewal processes to make it easier for families with eligible children to gain coverage, and documenting a significant increase in the number of children enrolled in Medicaid.
"Today's announcement highlights the ongoing and committed efforts by states to improve access to health coverage programs and take the aggressive steps necessary to enroll eligible children," Sebelius said in announcing the awards on Monday. "Their actions reflect President (Barack) Obama's serious commitment to assuring that our country's children get the healthcare they need. These performance bonuses demonstrate our support for the effective strategies these states have undertaken."
States receiving bonus awards are Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin. Alabama will receive nearly $55 million – more than one quarter of the payout – as a result of insuring 133,000 more children under Medicaid than had been projected by an HHS formulated baseline. Wisconsin received the second highest amount, more than $23 million.
"Receiving this bonus obviously means a lot for our state budget-wise. More importantly, it means ensuring a struggling family out there never has to choose between putting food on the table and filling a child's prescription," said Alabama Gov. Bob Riley. "The fact that Alabama is one of only 15 states receiving a performance bonus, and we are receiving the largest bonus, demonstrates the effectiveness of our program."
The $206 million represents a significant increase over the $75 million in bonuses paid to 10 states in 2009.
"We are pleased to be able to work in partnership with states as they continue to improve their Medicaid and CHIP programs and make them more accessible for families," said Cindy Mann, deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and director of the Center for Medicaid, CHIP and Survey & Certification. "The increase in both the number of states receiving awards and the amount distributed is particularly encouraging given the difficult economic times states are facing,"
The program, entering its third year, is designed to encourage states to educate families about Medicaid eligibility for uninsured kids, as well as reduce the paperwork and eligibility hurdles to enrollment in the program. To further encourage states to increase enrollment of the estimated 4.7 million uninsured children nationwide that qualify for Medicaid, CHIPRA included provisions and additional funding to help states cover more children.
In addition, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided relief to states with suffering economies by boosting Medicaid reimbursement rates for child services through June 30, 2011.
Because the federal bonus money is unrestricted, there is some concern that states will use the awards to help plug state budget shortfalls.
"The additional money should be safeguarded to preserve insurance for all Washington's children, not diverted to fill the general budget hole," said Cassie Sauer, spokeswoman for the Washington State Hospital Association, in an interview with the Seattle Times.
Washington child advocacy groups hope the money can be used to preserve a program that provides healthcare services for more than 27,000 undocumented kids despite Gov. Chris Gregoire's intention to eliminate the program. They also called for the money to be used to bolster Apple Health for Kids, which targets low-income families.
"Covering all kids made good sense in good times; it makes even better sense now," said Jon Gould, deputy director for The Children's Alliance, in a prepared statement. "Thousands of Washington families have turned to Apple Health for Kids as a lifeline for children in these tough times."
