Connecting Kids to Coverage Program - Founded in 1986, the Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board (GPTLHB) stands as a formal representative board of the seventeen Tribal nations and one service unit in the Great Plains Area (GPA) of South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa. The mission of GPTLHB is to work with Tribal communities and provide quality public health support and healthcare advocacy to improve the health status and eradicate the health divide among the region’s estimated 265,837 Tribal members. GPTLHB is applying for Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Cooperative Agreements (CKC) (CMS-3Y3-25-001) to help target, enroll, and retain eligible children, parents of children (families), and expecting mothers in Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), so fewer children are uninsured in the GPA. This funding is for services to be conducted during the 2025-2030 award period. GPTLHB's CKC program will provide services to the priority population of American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) residing in 40 counties in the state of South Dakota, which encompass nine Tribal Reservation communities and three urban areas. 89.5% of the total AI/AN population of South Dakota resides in our priority population area. Service county and tribal community locations are primarily rural, deprived, and vulnerable to significant health shortfalls among AI/AN residents due to natural and economic factors impacting health. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, over 50% of AI/AN adults in the state have incomes below the Federal Poverty Level. Between 25% and 50% of adults on the targeted reservations are unemployed. While South Dakota’s total uninsured rate is 9.5%, the uninsured rate among the priority population averages 31.1%, with an estimated half of those being under 18 years of age. Although the Indian Health Service (IHS) provides basic services to AI/AN peoples residing on reservations, IHS is funded at less than 50% of the level of need. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), private health insurance, and Medicaid/Chip programs offer financial access to health services critical to reducing health shortfalls and ensuring adequate access to health services within the state. The CKC Program recognizes the impact of these health disparities and chooses to focus on this priority population to continue reducing barriers to affordable care. GPTLHB CKC Program is requesting $600,000 for the first 12 months of a 5-year cooperative agreement ($3,000,000 over the five-year project period) to meet two significant goals: 1) Increase education and awareness of low-cost health coverage under Medicaid, CHIP, and the ACA’s FFM resources, and 2) Assist uninsured AI/AN children, parents of children (families), and expecting mothers in applying/enrolling and/or maintaining coverage. The CKC Program will focus on one-on-one engagement in person at educational/outreach events or scheduled appointments, utilizing and tailoring CKC materials for campaign messaging across the target population service area. Program staff will help refer any AI/AN consumer seeking assistance, as well as non-AI/AN consumers who inquire. Three Enrollment and Retention Specialists and the Project Director will be available year-round to support the CMS all-year open enrollment process for AI/AN children, parents of children (families), and expecting mothers as it pertains to Medicaid, CHIP, and the ACA’s FFM.
