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Recommendation to authorize City Manager to execute two agreements and all necessary documents with Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., to accept grant funds to provide outreach services for enrolling uninsured children into Kaiser Child Health Plan; and increase appropriations in the Health fund (SR 130) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HE) by $30,000. (Citywide)
DISCUSSION
The City of Long Beach, through the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
has been selected to receive two Kaiser Foundation Child Health Plan (CHP) Outreach
Grant Awards, one in the amount of $25,000 to conduct community outreach, enrollment,
and retention services and the second in the amount of $5,000 for program technology
enhancements. The total amount awarded to DHHS is $30,000. The award will support
and expand the current DHHS efforts to increase access and enrollment of uninsured
children into Kaiser CHP and other free or low-cost health insurance programs.
The Kaiser CHP Outreach Program Grant will be integrated with the seven year old DHHS
citywide campaign that enrolls children in Medi-Call Healthy Families, and Healthy Kids
insurance programs. Due to countywide outreach and enrollment efforts over the past
several years, it is estimated that 90 percent of children in Service Planning Area (SPA) 8,
which includes Long Beach, are now insured. Ongoing efforts are now needed to help
families maintain that coverage, and to strive to enroll the remaining 10 percent, most of
whom are eligible for Kaiser CHP or one of the other low-cost insurance programs. Kaiser
CHP is designed to provide healthcare coverage for children that do not qualify for the
aforementioned programs due to income or immigration status. The funds will be used to
ensure that children in the city of Long Beach will have access to affordable comprehensive
healthcare coverage. The goals for the DHHS upon receipt of this funding is to enroll a
minimum of 250 children, provide retentio...
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