Press Releases

SEBELIUS AWARDS OVER $11 MILLION TO FLORIDA TO TEST INNOVATIONS IN CHILDREN'S HEALTH CARE

             Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced a grant of over $11 million to Florida to improve health care quality and delivery systems for children enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

The grant is part of $100 million in federal funds awarded to 10 states today as part of the Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA).  The funds will be awarded over a five-year period.  Florida will be awarded $880,371 in the first year of the five-year grant totaling $11.3 million.

Florida will work together with Illinois to test collection and reporting of recommended children’s healthcare quality measures across various delivery systems and populations.  The two states will also work to improve newborn health by assuring appropriate followup care after discharge from hospital neonatal intensive care units, better reproductive planning and care, and increased screening, assessment, and treatment for perinatal depression.

“We all have a stake in the health of our nation’s children,” said Sebelius. “Exploring new technologies and initiatives will help ensure our kids get the high quality care they need and deserve.”

The grants are totally federally funded and are designed help establish a national quality system for children’s health care through Medicaid and CHIP.  The money will help states implement and evaluate provider performance measures and utilize health information technologies such as pediatric electronic health records and other quality improvement initiatives.

              “These grants will test the most current theories of how to improve the quality of care delivered to children,” said Cindy Mann, director of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.  “These awards will help create the foundation for a more responsive and effective national framework of high quality healthcare for children.”

             More information about children’s health coverage can be found at www.InsureKidsNow.gov.

Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at www.hhs.gov/news.

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