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Model Application Template for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program

Effective Date:

Approval Date: 26 Eligibility Determination/Enrollment

The outreach strategy has two goals. The first goal is to increase general awareness of the increased access the program offers to families in North Carolina; second, to assist in educating families about how to best use the health care system to improve the wellbeing of their children.

The overall outreach strategy provides a number of program benefits:

(1) to assure that children who are eligible for Title XIX are enrolled in Title XIX; (2) to prevent children from being inadvertently enrolled in two programs; (3) to provide one consistent source of enrollment data, and (4) to avoid a substantive investment to create a new computerized information system for Title XXI.

The State has implemented Federal options to simplify the Title XIX and XXI enrollment process including annual re-determination, a simplified application, decentralized enrollment through out-stationed staff (enrollment "drives") and the development of a mail-in application. In addition, the State explored and engaged as many others as possible in the outreach and enrollment process (e.g. public/private providers, schools, Smart Start, day care, work sites, etc.) Title XXI and Title XIX now have continuous eligibility for 12 months without regard to changes in income.

Implementation

In each county outreach is conducted through collaborative implementation efforts between the local Departments of Health and Social Services with guidance from the State Outreach Coalition.

General public awareness campaigns have been conducted through the NC Healthy Start Foundation (a 501 C-3 organization) with statewide media campaigns conducted through the Public Information Office of NCDHHS. The name of the program was selected through focus groups conducted statewide. County-based publicity kits were developed by the National Covering Kids Campaign and by the Healthy Start Foundation.

Local Department of Social Services employees identify potentially eligible families and facilitate the completion of applications. These efforts include working with child care providers and public schools to