N.J. gets $4.2M for enrolling children in health coverage program

The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has awarded New Jersey a $4.2 million performance bonus for increasing NJ FamilyCare health insurance enrollment among eligible, uninsured, children in the state, Gov. Jon Corzine announced Thursday.

Only eight other states – Alabama, Alaska, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington – qualified for the bonus.

“Access to health insurance for children has been a touchstone of my administration,” Corzine said. “This bonus is a much appreciated honor for our state and a testament to the commitment we’ve exercised in insuring more than 100,000 new children over four years.”
“With our governmental and not-for-profit partners, the Department of Human Services has been working incredibly hard to find and insure eligible children using innovative programs, including presumptive eligibility in hospitals and clinics, and school-based outreach facilitators,” Commissioner Jennifer Velez said. “This award proves that, while there are many children still in need of health care coverage, New Jersey is making great headway.”

In order to receive the bonus, the federal CMS rated states on two areas: Implementing at least five of eight specific programs to promote enrollment and retention for children, and increasing enrollment above a formulaic target set by the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009.

New Jersey exceeded CMS’ minimum requirements by successfully increasing accessibility to children’s enrollment in six program areas: Continuous 12-month eligibility, eliminating the financial asset test, eliminating in-person interview at application and renewal, instituting single, unified, form for application and renewal, instituting automatic verification at renewal, and instituting presumptive eligibility for coverage.

New Jersey also achieved a 4.2 percent enrollment increase above baseline enrollment for federal fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.

Presently, NJ FamilyCare, the state’s program for low-income families, insures more than 614,197 children and provides a free or low-cost health care coverage for income-eligible families. For example, a family of four earning up to $77,175 – or 350 percent of the federal poverty level – can qualify to insure their children for $133 a month in the state- and federally-funded program.

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