State Receives $5.2 Million For Enrolling

Eligible Children In Health Coverage

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Connecticut officials recently learned the state will receive $5,209,262 for ensuring more children have health coverage. The performance bonus payments are funded under the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, according to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

To qualify for these bonus payments, states must surpass a specified Medicaid enrollment target. They also must adopt procedures that improve access to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), making it easier for eligible children to enroll and retain coverage.

Connecticut is one of 23 states to share more than $296 million in federal performance bonuses this year.

The bonuses come one week after new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the number of children with insurance increased by 1.2 million since the CHIP reauthorization in 2009.

An HHS issue brief notes that this increase has been entirely due to greater enrollment in public programs such as Medicaid and CHIP.

“More of Connecticut’s children now have the advantages health coverage provides,” Secretary Sebelius said. “And Connecticut parents now have the security of knowing their children can get the health care they need without worrying that an illness could leave them with a lifetime of medical bills.”

Connecticut is receiving a performance bonus for the first time.

Secretary Sebelius said the state has made several program improvements to streamline the children’s health coverage enrollment process. For example, the same forms are used to apply for Medicaid (HUSKY A) or CHIP (HUSKY B) and applicants are not required to appear for a face-to-face interview, which can be especially difficult for working parents.

In addition, Connecticut has expanded its use of the “presumptive eligibility” option, a procedure that jumpstarts enrollment for eligible children, making it possible for them to see a doctor or get a prescription filled while the full eligibility determination process is being completed.

Performance bonuses help offset the costs states incur when they enroll lower-income children in Medicaid.

The bonuses also give states the incentive to streamline their enrollment and renewal procedures, ensuring long-term improvements in their children’s health insurance programs.

“Despite serious fiscal challenges, today’s awards show that children’s health remains a top priority for states,” said Cindy Mann, deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “Not only have more states qualified for performance bonuses than in the past, but many have continued to improve the efficiency of their programs,” she said.

For more information on the CHIP awards, visit www.insurekidsnow.gov/professionals/CHIPRA/.