Date: February 27, 2001
For Release: Immediately
Contact: HRSA Press Office
(301) 443-3376
Headline: NINE MORE STATES RECEIVE HHS GRANTS TO DEVELOP
PLANS
EXTENDING HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE TO ALL CITIZENS
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced today that nine
states have received
one-year grants totaling $10.2 million to develop plans for
providing their
uninsured citizens with affordable health insurance. The
newly funded states
are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, South
Dakota, Texas,
Utah and Washington.
The nine latest recipients of State Planning Grants join 11
others that last
year received grants totaling $13.6 million, the first
awards made under the
program.
"It is vital that we work to expand access to health
insurance to all our
citizens," said Secretary Thompson. "The grants
will help states identify
who remains uninsured, why they are uninsured and develop
ways to get them the
coverage they need."
Under the program, administered by HHS' Health Resources and
Services
Administration, grantees from state agencies first will
conduct studies to
identify characteristics of their uninsured citizens.
Grantees then will use
that data 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.
All state grantees are required by the end of their grant to
report to the
Secretary on grant activities and detail proposals for
expanding insurance
coverage to all uninsured citizens.
"We expect to receive some interesting and inventive
models for covering the
uninsured that will be very useful to other states and the
nation as a whole,"
said HRSA Administrator Claude Earl Fox, M.D., M.P.H.
More information about the program is available at
http://www.hrsa.gov/stateplanning.
HRSA Fiscal Year 2001 State Planning Grantees
Grantee Award
Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System $ 1,162,879
California Health and Human Services $ 1,197,000
Office of the Governor-State of Colorado $ 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
HRSA Fiscal Year 2000 State Planning Grantees
Grantee Award
Arkansas Department of Health Improvement $1,393,322
Delaware Health Care Commission $ 800,900
State of Illinois $1,200,000
Iowa Department of Health $1,303,731
Kansas Insurance Department $1,298,205
Massachusetts Division of Medical Assistance $1,069,195
Minnesota Department of Health $1,630,931
New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services
$1,033,315
Office for Oregon Health Plan Policy and Research $1,253,264
Vermont Agency of Human Services $1,288,892
Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services
$1,349,846
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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press
materials are
available at www.hhs.gov/news.