Portico Healthnet has been awarded $988,000 by the Department of Health and Human Services to launch the Minnesota Coalition for Kids Health Coverage.
The partnership of community agencies from around the state will identify and enroll uninsured children in the Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare safety net programs.
"The barriers to enrollment in public health coverage programs faced by uninsured children and their families are formidable," said Portico Healthnet Executive Director Debra Holmgren. "Most stem from lack of awareness or understanding of the programs and the complexity of the various application processes.”
The funding, awarded over a two-year period, will nearly double the amount currently being spent by coalition partners.
“Each partner in the Minnesota Coalition for Kids Health Coverage has unique expertise in surmounting these barriers, and this grant will allow us to coordinate our various efforts, leverage our combined strengths and develop enhanced solutions that are scalable and replicable," said Holmgren.
Other agencies in the coalition include Duluth-based Generations Health Care Initiatives, Rochester-based Olmsted Community Action Program and St. Cloud Area Legal Services.
"With millions of Americans either out of work or otherwise struggling to make ends meet during this recession," HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said, "there is an even greater urgency to bring steady, reliable healthcare to children in these families who may have lost their coverage."