CHIPRA OUTREACH TO AND ENROLLMENT OF INDIANS

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Funding DescriptionOn February 4, 2009, the President signed into law the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) (Public Law 111-3). CHIPRA reauthorizes the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through Federal fiscal year (FFY) 2013, providing an additional $44 billion in federal funds to enable States to maintain their current CHIP programs and increase enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP. CHIPRA includes a number of provisions for increasing outreach funding and activities to enroll eligible, yet non-insured children, in coverage with a particular focus on those who are the most difficult to reach. The provisions for the Grants for Outreach to and Enrollment of Indian Children are the subject of this solicitation. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will award a total of $10 million to eligible Indian Health Service (IHS), Tribes and Tribal organizations operating health programs under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (ISDEAA) (P.L. 93-638, as amended), and Urban Indian organizations operating health programs under title V of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA) (Pub. L 94-437, as amended) for outreach to, and enrollment of, Indian children.Priority for Award of GrantsStates have been successful in enrolling children in Medicaid and CHIP, but there are still several million children that are eligible for this public, comprehensive coverage that are not enrolled. The commitment to enroll and retain these children in Medicaid and CHIP has been reinforced by CHIPRA. CHIPRA provides $10 million for fiscal years 2009-2013, expressly for the purpose of providing outreach grant money to find eligible, yet non-enrolled, Indian children; to ensure they are enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP programs; and to see they retain this coverage while they are eligible. The award of these grants is based on the following principles:●Outreach will be results driven and connected to actual enrollment and retention of target-population Indian children in these programs.●Grantees must be able to provide sound and viable data that demonstrates the connection between proposed outreach and resultant program enrollment and retention.●Data and systems improvements will be considered for funding within a proposal, providing the applicant can demonstrate that these are appropriate within the context of the outreach strategies and will result in increased enrollment and retention.●CMS intends to share best practices of, and lessons learned from, grantees. CMS is particularly interested in successful outreach efforts that can be replicated.In accordance with law, priority for the award of grants will be given to eligible entities that:•Propose to target geographic areas and specific communities with high incidence of: i.Eligible yet non-enrolled Indian children, including children residing in rural areas.•Submit substantial demonstrable evidence that the entity:i.Has access to, and credibility with, Indian populations in communities in which funded activities are to be conducted;ii.Has the ability to address barriers to enrollment, such as lack of awareness of eligibility, stigma concerns and punitive fears associated with receipt of benefits to the extent they exist, and other cultural barriers to applying for and receiving child health assistance or medical assistance;iii.Can, and will, provide specific quality and outcome performance measures to evaluate the effectiveness of funded activities; andiv.Will:•Conduct an assessment of the effectiveness of such activities against the performance measures;•Cooperate with collecting and reporting enrollment data and other information in order for the Secretary of HHS to conduct such assessments.The $10 million will be awarded on April 15, 2010. Successful applicants will receive an award for a 36-month period.

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