Virginia Anticipates Increase in FAMIS Enrollment, Governor Says

Virginia Gov. Mark Warner (D) said that his administration has improved the Family Access to Medical Insurance Security plan, Virginia's CHIP program, and the state is now "actively recruiting clients," the Washington Post reports. Speaking at a meeting of health care providers and advocates on Friday, Warner said that FAMIS has enrolled approximately 13,500 new children this year for a high of 45,271 in August because of legislative "streamlin[ing]" and changes to "the often complicated health care bureaucracies." However, Warner "acknowledged that the state is not even halfway toward insuring the estimated 110,000 children who are eligible for FAMIS," the Post reports (Melton, Washington Post, 9/21). According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the state has failed to receive millions of dollars from the federal government for FAMIS because enrollment levels have fallen short of projections (Smith, Richmond Times-Dispatch, 9/21). Warner said that back-to-school programs and the designation of Children's Health Insurance week from Oct. 13-20 "would heighten public awareness about the plan's benefits" (Washington Post, 9/21).