Today 23 states were awarded federal funding for improving how they enroll children in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.Georgia for the first time will receive a bonus. As WABE's Rose Scott reports, the money is tied to the cost of covering children. In Georgia, there are more than 2-hundred and 50 thousand children enrolled in the Children's Health Insurance Program or (CHIP). There are more than a million enrolled in Medicaid.
That number has increased since The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 went into effect. So the announcement that the state will receive bonus money means Georgia is doing something right according to Cindy Man, "we are very excited to have Georgia get a performance bonus it's been hard at work at simplifying its program and enrolling more kids."
Cindy Man is deputy administrator and director of the center for Medicaid and CHIP services. Georgia has adopted a feature called Express Lane Eligibility and Man says the process of applying is less stressful, "what Georgia is doing with Express Lane Eligibility is using information that families have already provided to the WIC program so, Georgia is taking the information of available from the WIC program with the permission of the family and using that information to help make eligibility determination for Medicaid and CHIP."That means less red tape which can be frustrating for those applying for children's health insurance.
This is the first time Georgia is receiving a performance bonus. Man says part of the reason for the bonus is to fray the cost the state has already incurred by adding more kids its program. Georgia will receive just under 5 million dollars and the money is funded from The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act.