Nearly $300 million in Children’s Health Insurance Program performance bonuses have been awarded to 23 states for 2011, according to a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services.
The bonuses are tied to increases of 10% or more within each state in health insurance coverage for children via Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). States also must meet criteria for cutting red tape and streamlining procedures so families can more easily enroll their children in health coverage. Of the 23 states receiving awards, 16 states exceeded the 10% goal.
The awards are intended to offset the costs of boosting Medicaid enrollment, according to the HHS statement.
The bonuses come 1 week after new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that the number of children with health insurance has increased by 1.2 million since CHIP was reauthorized in 2009. An HHS issue brief noted that this increase has been entirely due to greater enrollment in public programs such as Medicaid and CHIP.