News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2003 |
Contact: HRSA Press Office (301) 443-3376 |
HHS AWARDS $11.7 MILLION TO STATES TO DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE ACCESS TO HEALTH INSURANCE
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced $11.7 million in grants to support projects in 30 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands to develop plans to provide affordable health insurance for uninsured residents.
Seven states --Florida, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Virginia -- and the District of Columbia will receive new one-year grants totaling close to $7.4 million under HHS' State Planning Grants program. Supplemental grants of almost $4.3 million will go to 24 current grantees (23 states and the Virgin Islands) to support their efforts to develop options to increase health insurance coverage.
"These grants will help states develop strategies to provide access to health care and coverage for more of their residents. This a complex issue that requires innovation, and we want to encourage state ideas to help get more Americans health coverage," Secretary Thompson said. "With more than 40 million Americans lacking health insurance, we are pursuing a wide range of initiatives to expand coverage. President Bush's budget plan would expand community health centers that care for the uninsured, offer health tax credits to help individuals obtain insurance and would extend the State Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid to reach more Americans who otherwise would go without coverage."
Grantees first conduct studies to identify uninsured residents and the reasons why they are uninsured. Then states use this information to determine the most effective ways to provide high-quality, affordable health insurance, using plans offered to government employees or other benchmark health plans as a model. The grants are administered by HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and its Office of Special Programs.
"An important element of the grants requires states to report to Secretary Thompson on details of their proposals to increase residents' access to health insurance," HRSA Administrator Elizabeth M. Duke said. "These findings will be helpful to the federal government and to other states as we work together to expand coverage."
Information about the President's initiatives to help the uninsured is available at http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2003pres/20030211.html. Additional information on the State Planning Grants program is available at http://www.hrsa.gov/osp/stateplanning.
Lists of the new and supplemental grants follow.
FY 2003 New State Planning Grants |
Organization |
City |
State |
Award |
District of Columbia Dept. of Health |
Washington |
D.C. |
$990,000 |
Florida Agency for Health Care Admin. |
Tallahassee |
Fla. |
$975,000 |
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services |
Jefferson City |
Mo. |
$938,489 |
Nebraska Department of Health |
Lincoln |
Neb. |
$776,522 |
New Mexico Human Services Dept. |
Santa Fe |
N.M. |
$905,000 |
Oklahoma Health Care Authority |
Oklahoma City |
Okla. |
$874,360 |
Rhode Island Dept. of Human Services |
Cranston |
R.I. |
$961,156 |
Virginia Department of Health |
Richmond |
Va. |
$969,729 |
Total |
$7,390,256 |
FY 2003 State Planning Supplemental Grants |
Organization |
City |
State |
Award |
Alabama Department of Public Health |
Montgomery |
Ala. |
$185,000 |
Arkansas Department of Health |
Little Rock |
Ark. |
$287,704* |
Connecticut Office of Health Care Access |
Hartford |
Conn. |
$185,000 |
Delaware Health Care Commission |
Dover |
Del. |
$150,000 |
Hawaii Department of Health |
Honolulu |
Hawaii |
$185,000 |
Idaho Department of Commerce |
Boise |
Idaho |
$185,000 |
Illinois Department of Insurance |
Springfield |
Ill. |
$185,000 |
Indiana Family and Social Services Admin. |
Indianapolis |
Ind. |
$185,000 |
Iowa Department of Public Health |
Des Moines |
Iowa |
$103,595 |
Kansas Department of Insurance |
Topeka |
Kan. |
$185,000 |
Maine Department of Human Services |
Augusta |
Maine |
$185,000 |
Maryland Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene |
Baltimore |
Md. |
$185,000 |
Massachusetts Division of Medical Assistance |
Boston |
Mass. |
$185,000 |
Minnesota Department of Health |
St. Paul |
Minn. |
$185,000 |
New Jersey Department of Human Services |
Trenton |
N.J. |
$185,000 |
Oregon Office for Health Policy and Research |
Salem |
Ore. |
$185,000 |
South Carolina Department of Insurance |
Columbia |
S.C. |
$170,088 |
Texas Department of Insurance |
Austin |
Texas |
$173,811 |
Vermont Agency for Human Services |
Waterbury |
Vermont |
$148,233 |
Virgin Islands Bureau of Economic Research |
Charlotte Amalie |
V.I. |
$103,595 |
Washington Office of Financial Management |
Olympia |
Wash. |
$185,000 |
West Virginia Health Care Authority |
Charleston |
W.Va. |
$185,000 |
Wisconsin Dept. of Health and Family Services |
Madison |
Wisc. |
$185,000 |
Wyoming Department of Health |
Cheyenne |
Wyo. |
$185,000 |
Total |
$4,282,026 |
*Includes $137,720 for the State Planning Grants Multi-State Integrated Data Base |
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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.
Last Revised: October 1, 2003
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