The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has made available $75 million in grants to help states expand health insurance access to the uninsured.
“With these funds, states can look at the most effective ways to provide affordable health insurance to their uninsured residents,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “Many states have had great success in recent years instituting health reforms, and these awards will make it possible for more states to extend coverage to more people.”
Grants will be made in two categories. Target grants of $2 million to $4 million will be awarded to states with plans to target specific groups of uninsured, such as children, small businesses or uninsured seniors. Comprehensive grants of $7 million to $10 million will be awarded to states for extensive insurance coverage initiatives.
The application deadline is June 15, and applications must have the support of the state's governor.
The grants will be made over a five-year period and require a 20-percent match unless a state demonstrates a financial hardship. In addition, states must demonstrate their ability to sustain the program after federal funding has expired. The impact and results of state projects will be reported to Congress at the end of the five-year grant period.
This new program will be overseen by HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration and is an outgrowth of the agency's State Planning Grant program that operated from 2000–2007. The previous effort enabled many states to develop plans that increased health insurance coverage for their uninsured residents.