Nine States Get $72.6M HHS Bonus for Expanding Children's Coverage

[depakid]

Source: HealthLeaders Media

Alabama will get a $39.1 million "performance bonus" for expanding enrollment and improving access to healthcare for children through Medicaid and CHIP, HHS announced today. The Christmas bonus represents more than half of the $72.6 million in bonuses to nine states that was included in the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization law, which also sets performance goals that states must meet to qualify for a bonus.

The eight other states receiving bonus money are: Alaska ($789,000); Illinois ($9.1 million); Louisiana ($1.5 million); Michigan ($3.7 million); New Jersey ($4.2 million); New Mexico ($5.1 million); Oregon ($1.6 million); and Washington ($7.2 million).

States had to meet two performance goals under CHIPRA to get the bonus. First, they had to adopt at least five of eight listed program features—such as providing 12 months of continuous eligibility, using a joint application for both Medicaid and the CHIP, and streamlining eligibility renewal processes—that are known to encourage enrollment and retention of eligible children. States also had to document significant increases in Medicaid enrollment among children in the past year.

A short-term boost in Medicaid reimbursement rates authorized by the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act also provided relief to states with weak economies, enabling them to extend care to eligible children.

Read more: http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/LED-243785/Nine-States-Get-726M-HHS-Bonus-for-Expanding-Childrens-Coverage

[tabasco]

1. Oh! This is awful!!

Let's impeach this awful Obama!

:sarcasm:

[midnight]

2. Good. I hope it doesn't come with more paper work, and or loop holes....

[bluestateguy]

3. Such a shame that so much of that money had to be wasted on Alabama

especially when they didn't even vote the right way last year.