Grant recipients by focus area:

Focus Area 1: Using Technology to Facilitate Enrollment and Renewal (10 grants)

CA ($1,259,565) Fresno Healthy Communities Access Partners represents 41 health center sites in five Central California counties. Using a web-based application, called One-e-App, the grantee will facilitate enrollment and renewal in Medicaid and CHIP. Trained multilingual, multicultural Certified Application Assistors will conduct community outreach to promote health coverage enrollment and link children to health services through a medical home.

FL ($754,200) Sacred Heart Health Systems Inc. will promote program awareness and enrollment and retention of children in Medicaid and CHIP in six northwest Florida counties, Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Gulf and Franklin. In collaboration with community coalitions, school districts, employer/business organizations, social service agencies, churches and health care providers, the grantee will identify potentially eligible children and will use the internet, social media, mobile technology and incentives to help families apply for and maintain coverage, as well as obtain needed health services for their children.
 
GA ($2,500,000) Georgia Department of Community Health will use a combination of technology solutions to simplify, streamline and better coordinate enrollment and renewal for Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids, Georgia’s CHIP program. The grantee will introduce a pre-populated Medicaid renewal form and redesigned notices; enhance electronic datamatching capacity to verify citizenship; provide portable scanners and laptop computers to facilitate off-site enrollment and verification; implement an on-line renewal module and develop an electronic referral from Medicaid to PeachCare for Kids so children do not lose coverage when their family circumstances change.

ME ($1,819,633) State of Maine Department of Health and Human Services will build upon the web portal created with its Cycle I CHIPRA outreach grant. Enhancements to be implemented under the Cycle II grant include systems to permit families to update eligibility information and other data on line; to receive notices electronically; to communicate online with their eligibility worker in a secure environment; and to allow them to submit premium payments online.

NY ($2,476,500) Hudson River Healthcare Inc. will improve and expand the use of online applications for health coverage in a 17-county region in New York State. As a result, the grantee expects to boost the number of applications and renewals successfully completed and reduce errors and delays in processing. The grant also will be used to increase the number of individuals trained to assist families with the application process.

NM ($2,484,430) New Mexico Human Services Department will modernize the State’s application, enrollment and renewal process using web-based technology to reduce paperwork,
speed processing and increase overall efficiency. The grantee also will focus on improving the State’s Presumptive Eligibility/Medicaid On-Site Application Assistance process.

ND ($1,690,867) North Dakota Department of Human Services will adapt the “e-Find” system so that multiple databases for wage, unemployment insurance, child support enforcement, Social Security data and other information can be electronically checked for the purpose of determining eligibility and renewing coverage for Medicaid and CHIP. E-find can be used from any location with internet access and can help standardize decision-making across all county and State offices. As a result, the State expects to see a decrease in the number of individuals that lose medical coverage at renewal, a decrease in the amount of time spent following up with families on verification issues and less reliance on paper verification.

SC ($2,336,959) South Carolina State Office of Rural Health, working with The Benefit Bank of South Carolina (TBB-SC), will connect the existing TBB-SC technology to the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services eligibility determination system. The grantee also will introduce the use of hand-held tablets with camera capability to capture applications and supporting paperwork electronically and then submit applications electronically. Using these tools, the grantee will expand its recruitment strategies to include work with fast food restaurants, faith based sites and schools.

SD ($1,704,789) South Dakota Department of Social Services will develop a web-based application that will enable families to enroll and renew coverage at home or using public computers. The grantee also will install kiosks at Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities and other sites on reservations, in consultation with stakeholders in Native American communities, to increase access to the web-based application. Application assistors will provide families with direct help with enrollment and renewal at schools and IHS facilities.

WA ($2,402,449) Washington Department of Social and Health Services will use technology to simplify the enrollment and renewal process. The grantee will implement a system that automatically enrolls newborns of mothers on Medicaid; attaches verification documents to online applications and renewals; and auto-populates online renewal forms. Through this project, the grantee expects to reduce the percentage of eligible children who lose coverage at renewal and reduce the rate of “churning,”( the rate at which eligible children whose coverage is terminated return to the program within a short period of time.)

Grants awarded in focus areas 2, 3, 4 and 5 on next pages.