This 3-year project is designed to complement State's plans and maximize enrollment of eligible children in New Jersey in a health insurance program (NJ KidCare: State’s CHIP or Medicaid by 1) compiling information about current programs/activities; 2) assessing the barriers in application and enrollment process through an in-depth study of the process and a series of surveys of consumers, providers and eligibility workers; 3) developing strategies to address identified barriers and simplify enrollment process (through procedural, process or policy changes); 4) designing innovative outreach initiatives/resources to reach low-income, diverse and hard-to-reach eligible populations and encourage families to enroll their children; 5) training outreach workers statewide on NJ KidCare enrollment; and 6) evaluating strategies and identifying the models that work best and facilitating their replication. The project operates through a coalition of government departments and a broad group of over 33 state and community based organizations, health plans, industry and academia that provide care to children or advocate for them. Five community pilots are formed to develop and conduct innovative outreach strategies in the communities they serve, identify eligible children and help their enrollment, and support statewide plan to assess barriers and simplify the application and enrollment process. . Local community coalitions are formed in each five pilots and will be directly linked to the statewide coalition. These pilots are uniquely nested in the state program as each addresses a segment of the target population (urban-based, rural-based, hospital-based, ethnicity-based, and church-based). This project is part of the national Covering Kids program.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the participant is able to: 1. Describe the federal CHIP and NJ CHIP program; 2. Recognize the barriers to children enrollment in Medicaid and other public insurance programs in nation and in NJ; 3. Identify the challenges of statewide and local coalition building to address a public health issue; and 4. Identify challenges in any procedural, process and policy changes regarding children's access to health insurance
Keywords: Children's Health, Insurance-Related Barriers
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.