July 9, 2009

Dear Partners, 

We want to bring your attention to the recently announced CHIP outreach and enrollment grants that will be made available for state-based efforts to cover uninsured children.  We also want to let you know about a new CHIP Implementation page on our website.  

CHIP Outreach and Enrollment Grants

The goal of the CHIPRA legislation is to enroll more children in Medicaid and CHIP.  The legislation provides funding of up to $40 million this year ($100 million over four years) to organizations, coalitions, and state and local governments for enrolling eligible and underserved children (click here to view the Initial Announcement, which includes a complete list of who is eligible to apply).  

Two-year grants will be awarded by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to applicants who demonstrate innovative, results-focused ideas for covering the hardest to reach children.  The grants will be awarded in sums ranging from $25,000 to $1 million, and they are not allocated on a per-state basis.  

This funding could be a tremendous opportunity for your state's efforts to enroll more children in your Medicaid and CHIP programs.  Below are important dates to note for the application process (click here to see the HHS press release): 

Important Outreach Grant Dates:

• July 22, 2009, 2:00 - 4:00 pm EST: Applicant's Teleconference
• July 27, 2009: Voluntary Notice of Intent to Apply
• August 6, 2009: Electronic Grant Application Due Date
• August 10, 2009: Mailed Grant Application Due Date
• Prior to September 30, 2009: Issuance of Notice Awards
• September 30, 2009 - September 29, 2011: Grant Period of Performance/Budget Period  

We would be very interested in learning which NEACH partners are applying for this funding and hope you will email Maia Fedyszyn (mfedyszyn@communitycatalyst.org) to let her know if you are submitting an application. 

NEACH CHIP Implementation Webpage

We want to do all that we can to support you in your efforts to enroll eligible children in Medicaid and CHIP.  To help do this, we created a webpage with useful information about CHIP implementation.  This page includes CHIP legislation and summaries, guidance from CMS, a CHIP implementation toolkit, reports on CHIP implementation, and links to other organizations committed to CHIP implementation efforts.  Click here to view this webpage.

We hope these resources will be helpful to you as you continue to advance children's health care.  As always, please feel free to contact me (617-275-2929, arosenthal@communitycatalyst.org) directly with questions. 

Sincerely,

Amy Rosenthal 
Project Director