HHS Awards Nine States Grants to Study, Plan Coverage for Uninsured
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson announced Feb. 27 that nine states have been awarded one-year grants totaling $10.2 million "to develop plans for providing their uninsured citizens with affordable health insurance." Under the State Planning Grant Program, administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration, states receiving awards first conduct studies "to identify characteristics of their uninsured citizens," and then employ their findings "to determine the most effective methods to provide all state citizens with high quality, affordable health insurance similar to plans that cover government employees or other benchmark plans." States are required to report to the secretary at the end of their grant detailing their proposals for expanding coverage. The following states agencies were awarded grants for fiscal year 2001:
- Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System -- $1,162,879;
- California Health and Human Services -- $1,197,000;
- Colorado Office of the Governor -- $1,300,000;
- South Dakota Department of Health -- $1,056,812;
- Connecticut Office of Health Care Access -- $612,000;
- Idaho Department of Commerce -- $1,119,421;
- Washington Office of Financial Management -- $1,320,400;
- Texas Department of Insurance -- $1,350,735;
- Utah Department of Health -- $1,102,000.
This is the second year of the grant program; last year 11 states received awards totaling $13.6 million. "It is vital that we work to expand access to health insurance to all citizens. The grants will help states identify who remains uninsured, why they are uninsured and develop ways to get them the coverage they need," Thompson said (HHS release, 2/27).
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