IMPORTANT: Look for your child’s Medicaid or CHIP renewal in the mail, complete it and mail it back immediately. They may be covered even if you’re not! Every child currently covered by Medicaid or CHIP will need to go through a renewal process within the next several months. Keep your child covered and healthy. Complete the renewal as soon as you get it in the mail! Go to Medicaid.gov/renewals to find contact information for your state Medicaid office.

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Campaign Updates

December 22, 2015

As the new year approaches, the Connecting Kids to Coverage Campaign team would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been working in 2015 on the national, state and local levels to enroll more eligible children in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and to keep them covered for as long as they qualify! As we head into 2016, here are a few updates we'd like to share to help maintain your outreach and enrollment momentum:

  • Research Round-Up: Children with Medicaid and CHIP Get More Preventive Care than Those with Private Insurance
  • Next Campaign Webinar Coming up on January 28!
  • Resources on InsureKidsNow.gov: Refreshed "Making Outreach Work" Activity Idea Sheets, Online Communications Tools and More!

Research Round-Up: Children with Medicaid or CHIP Get More Preventive Care than Those with Private Insurance

According to a national survey conducted by David M. Rubin, M.D., M.S.C.E., of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, children insured by Medicaid or CHIP were more likely to get preventive medical and dental care than privately insured children. The study compared access and use of health care for children in households with low to moderate incomes as reported by caregivers. Results were derived by analyzing data from the National Survey of Children's Health (2003, 2007 and 2011-12) to compare access to care for children with Medicaid, CHIP, and private insurance and for those who were uninsured.

Key findings from the survey:

  • 88% of children covered by Medicaid or CHIP had a preventive medical visit compared with 83% of privately insured children.
  • 80% of children covered by Medicaid and 77% covered by CHIP had a preventive dental visit compared with 73% of privately insured children.
  • Caregivers of privately insured children were more likely to experience out-of-pocket costs (77%) than caregivers of children insured by Medicaid (26%) or CHIP (38%).
  • Children covered by Medicaid and CHIP (78%) were more likely to have insurance that always met their needs than were privately insured children (73%).

This survey validates the importance of enrolling uninsured children in Medicaid and CHIP to ensure they not only have access to quality health care, but are getting the preventive services they need. This also demonstrates that Medicaid and CHIP can help protect families' finances.

Next Campaign Webinar Coming up on January 28!

Mark your calendar! The next Connecting Kids to Coverage National Campaign webinar will be held on January 28, 2016 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. eastern time. The topic is "Developing Your Media Strategy for 2016." Watch your email for additional details, including a registration link, coming soon.

Resources on InsureKidsNow.gov: Refreshed "Making Outreach Work" Activity Idea Sheets, Online Communications Tools and More!

Have you visited InsureKidsNow.gov recently? Our website has numerous resources available to help support Medicaid and CHIP outreach and enrollment efforts! We recently refreshed our "Making Outreach Work" activity idea sheets to spark inspiration around Medicaid and CHIP outreach and enrollment activities. Our online communications tools, including web banners, web buttons and social media graphics can be downloaded and used on your own social media channels or webpages. And if you have missed a webinar or would like to refer back to a webinar you attended, check out our archive.

3 Ways to Stay Connected with the National Campaign

  • Share our materials widely. We have an ever-growing range of excellent resources available to use in outreach and enrollment efforts.
  • Contact us to get more involved with the National Campaign at ConnectingKids@cms.hhs.gov.
  • Follow the Campaign on Twitter. Don't forget to re-tweet or share our messages with your network or use our #Enroll365 hashtag in your posts.

The Connecting Kids to Coverage National Campaign Notes eNewsletter is distributed throughout the year and provides updates on National Campaign activities. If a friend or colleague forwarded this email to you, sign up to get this eNewsletter delivered directly to your inbox.