This workshop will be held on Tuesday, June 28th from 8:00am to 10:45am in Ballroom A.
Over the past year and a half, the Colorado Association for School-Based Health Care (CASBHC) has heard many stories about the impact of outreach and enrollment (O&E) for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) at Colorado’s school-based health centers (SBHCs). All of these stories share a similar theme about the power of O&E in ensuring SBHC patients can access comprehensive care, including specialty care, when in need. One story has been on my mind lately. It is about a 6 year old girl who was uninsured when she visited her local SBHC. The on-site SBHC O&E staff person worked with the family to enroll her in Medicaid. During a SBHC visit, a heart murmur was detected. After referrals to a local pediatrician and a pediatric cardiologist, a heart defect requiring surgery was detected. Fortunately, due to her recent Medicaid coverage, the young girl is able to access all the care she needs, including the heart surgery. This SBHC played a critical role in this child’s life. Not only did the provider identify an important health finding, but through O&E they ensured access to comprehensive care within the clinic and beyond. The O&E work at Colorado’s SBHCs has changed many children and families lives. But we have also found that it is changing Colorado’s SBHCs. Through our federal Children Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) O&E grant, CASBHC has been able to increase the capacity for SBHCs to perform O&E on-site. During our grant period, we have seen many SBHCs grow the number of children covered by Medicaid and CHIP, in turn increasing their billable revenue. Ensuring SBHCs implement an effective outreach model is the key to success. During our CHIPRA grant, we have uncovered many lessons learned about effective and efficient O&E at SBHCs and are excited to share this information with SBHCs across the country.
Stacey Moody
Director of Member Services
Colorado Association for School-Based Health Care
Showing posts with label CHIP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CHIP. Show all posts
Friday, June 24, 2011
Workshop: D8 - Successful Models for Enrolling and Retaining Children in Medicaid and CHIP through School-Based Health Clinics Part II
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, June 28th from 8:00am to 10:45am in Ballroom A.
Oregon Healthy Kids has conducted a successful campaign to enroll kids and teens in CHIP, Medicaid, and other state funded programs available for uninsured youth up to age 19. The campaign utilizes community partners to reach families and help them enroll as well as standard marketing techniques like print ads, radio, billboards, and social media. In March, we celebrated enrolling an additional 85,000 kids and teens since 2009. At the celebration, we heard one mom’s story that emphasized the difference health insurance can make to family.
A key component of the Healthy Kids outreach, enrollment, and retention campaign are the schools. Our school-based efforts have reached over 560,000 K-12 students in every school district across Oregon. We developed strategies that utilize events and systems already established in the schools, strengthen grassroots relationships between the schools and community partners, and consider the role of every professional and advocate in the school community.
Oregon Healthy Kids was also selected as a pilot state for CMS’s Get Covered. Get in the Game campaign. This opportunity included a visit from US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in August of last year. She was joined by Oregon’s then Governor Kulongoski at a high school in Portland to accept the challenge of helping to enroll 5 million children over the next 5 years into the children's Medicaid and CHIP programs.
Oregon Healthy Kids has conducted a successful campaign to enroll kids and teens in CHIP, Medicaid, and other state funded programs available for uninsured youth up to age 19. The campaign utilizes community partners to reach families and help them enroll as well as standard marketing techniques like print ads, radio, billboards, and social media. In March, we celebrated enrolling an additional 85,000 kids and teens since 2009. At the celebration, we heard one mom’s story that emphasized the difference health insurance can make to family.
A key component of the Healthy Kids outreach, enrollment, and retention campaign are the schools. Our school-based efforts have reached over 560,000 K-12 students in every school district across Oregon. We developed strategies that utilize events and systems already established in the schools, strengthen grassroots relationships between the schools and community partners, and consider the role of every professional and advocate in the school community.
Oregon Healthy Kids was also selected as a pilot state for CMS’s Get Covered. Get in the Game campaign. This opportunity included a visit from US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in August of last year. She was joined by Oregon’s then Governor Kulongoski at a high school in Portland to accept the challenge of helping to enroll 5 million children over the next 5 years into the children's Medicaid and CHIP programs.
Workshop: D8 - Successful Models for Enrolling and Retaining Children in Medicaid and CHIP through School-Based Health Clinics
This workshop will be held on Tuesday, June 28th from 8:00am to 10:45am in Ballroom A.
America’s students are best equipped to excel when they are healthy -- and staying healthy depends in large measure on whether they have health insurance that covers routine preventive care and medical attention when they are sick or injured. These days, many families are coping with the effects of the economic downturn, which may have meant the loss of a job and the health coverage that went with it. Fortunately, children without health insurance do not have to miss out – eligible children can sign-up for coverage through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). School-based health clinics play a pivotal role in providing students needed health services and they are also natural partners in the national effort to enroll all eligible children in Medicaid and CHIP.
We know that outreach works – especially when it includes targeted efforts to help families enroll their children in Medicaid and CHIP and keep them covered for as long as they qualify. There are many ways that school-based health centers can take the lead by engaging other school staff – including teachers, athletic coaches, guidance counselors and others – and by creating opportunities for families to learn more about the programs and complete applications. Many states have on-line applications and have taken other steps to simplify and streamline the process, making it easier and more effective to incorporate such activities in schools. You can find general materials you can customize and a list of ten A-plus strategies for schools on the US Department of Health and Human Services website, www.insurekidsnow.gov.
On the website, you can also learn more about the Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge, issued by Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Over 50 organizations have stepped up to the Challenge and are actively working to find and enroll all eligible children that are eligible for Medicaid and CHIP and we encourage you to join. Come to the session Successful Models for Enrolling and Retaining Children in Medicaid and CHIP through School-Based Health Clinics at 8:00am in Belmont and learn more about the Challenge and how school-based health centers in Oregon and Colorado are contributing to this important effort.
Amy Hennessy, MPH
Technical Director
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Consortium for Medicaid and Children’s Health Operations
America’s students are best equipped to excel when they are healthy -- and staying healthy depends in large measure on whether they have health insurance that covers routine preventive care and medical attention when they are sick or injured. These days, many families are coping with the effects of the economic downturn, which may have meant the loss of a job and the health coverage that went with it. Fortunately, children without health insurance do not have to miss out – eligible children can sign-up for coverage through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). School-based health clinics play a pivotal role in providing students needed health services and they are also natural partners in the national effort to enroll all eligible children in Medicaid and CHIP.
We know that outreach works – especially when it includes targeted efforts to help families enroll their children in Medicaid and CHIP and keep them covered for as long as they qualify. There are many ways that school-based health centers can take the lead by engaging other school staff – including teachers, athletic coaches, guidance counselors and others – and by creating opportunities for families to learn more about the programs and complete applications. Many states have on-line applications and have taken other steps to simplify and streamline the process, making it easier and more effective to incorporate such activities in schools. You can find general materials you can customize and a list of ten A-plus strategies for schools on the US Department of Health and Human Services website, www.insurekidsnow.gov.
On the website, you can also learn more about the Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge, issued by Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Over 50 organizations have stepped up to the Challenge and are actively working to find and enroll all eligible children that are eligible for Medicaid and CHIP and we encourage you to join. Come to the session Successful Models for Enrolling and Retaining Children in Medicaid and CHIP through School-Based Health Clinics at 8:00am in Belmont and learn more about the Challenge and how school-based health centers in Oregon and Colorado are contributing to this important effort.
Amy Hennessy, MPH
Technical Director
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Consortium for Medicaid and Children’s Health Operations
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