CMS: 23 states boost children's access to care

CMS has awarded more than $307 million in performance bonuses to 23 states for improving access to children’s health coverage and successfully enrolling eligible children in Medicaid, CMS announced earlier this week. The bonuses were authorized under the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA). This is the final year of performance bonus awards, CMS stated. States could qualify for a bonus by implementing procedures to simplify Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and renewal processes to improve eligible children’s access to coverage. The amount of a state’s bonus corresponds to the increase in children’s Medicaid enrollment over a specified target.

The bonuses help states offset the costs of insuring the lowest income children and encouraging them to adopt sustainable improvements in their children’s health coverage programs. The 23 states awarded performance bonuses include:  Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.