1. Success Story Stephanie Launiu, Bay Clinic Executive Director, very kindly shared this story. On 19 January a young adult was hit on his motorcycle and ended up in Hilo Hospital for eleven days. He was turned down by Med-QUEST because he was over income but recently, since the cap was lifted and there are new FPL guidelines, he qualifies. This wiped out his $25,000 bill! Special thanks to Karen Teshima (Bay Clinic) and Shirley Fuke (Med-QUEST) for working together to get his application reconsidered. Have another success story to share? Please email Barbara Luksch at coverkids@aol.com. 2. HHS Approves Three CHIP Waivers to Enroll Parents * On January 18, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the approval of three State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) waivers, allowing three states to offer health insurance to parents of children eligible for CHIP or Medicaid. New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin now have the ability to use CHIP funds to cover low-income families with children. * New Jersey will enroll parents of Medicaid or CHIP eligible children with incomes up to 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) and pregnant women with incomes up to 200 percent of FPL. Rhode Island will cover parents with incomes up to 185 percent FPL and pregnant women up to 350 percent FPL. Wisconsin will enroll parents with incomes up to 185 percent of FPL. * A copy of the news release on new waivers is at http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2001pres/20010118d.html. 3. National Launch of SHOUT (Student Health Outreach Project) The Children's Defense Fund is announced the national launch of SHOUT and the SHOUT listserv. SHOUT aims to involve high school and college students in signing up families for health insurance. The SHOUT listserv will provide students and faculty across the country with a forum to exchange information about national and local SHOUT efforts and share experiences. SHOUT is a student-run project of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF). The ultimate goal is to reach all eligible children and sign them up for health insurance by engaging students, as well as school administrators, in the effort to spread the word about Medicaid and CHIP. Students can play an instrumental role in identifying uninsured children, educating their families about the importance and availability of free or low-cost health insurance, and assisting them through the enrollment process. SHOUT links students to community-based outreach and enrollment efforts so they can learn about their state's health insurance programs. Once trained, students can work with community-based organizations to help reach out to families and assist them through the enrollment process. Students can participate in SHOUT through an existing community service program at their school or start a SHOUT chapter at their school. Students and school administrators can contact the Children's Defense Fund at 202-628-8787 for information on how to develop a SHOUT project and for SHOUT materials. Information is also available at Student Outreach Programs. SHOUT was launched as a pilot project between CDF-NY and students at Columbia University in 1998. The target population of the original project was all children in Northern Manhattan eligible for Medicaid or Child Health Plus. Currently, there are several SHOUT projects in cities across the country. For specific questions on the SHOUT program or to share information on student outreach efforts with your school, please forward emails to SHOUT@childrensdefense.org. 4. Health Care for Rural Adolescents Research published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine reports that for rural adolescents, having the same provider for both preventive and illness care was the most consistent and significant predictor of receipt for all types of outpatient services. When rural teens did not have a consistent provider for both preventive and illness care, their use of emergency services was greater. Only the abstract is available to nonmembers. http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/155/2/184. 5. Call for Proposals: State Coverage Initiatives State Coverage Initiatives (SCI), a program of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, was formed to help states develop and implement policies that expand access to health insurance coverage to the uninsured. SCI provides states with technical assistance and financial support to assist them as they examine and implement coverage expansion strategies, including expansion under Medicaid and CHIP. SCI is currently offering two types of grants to assist states in their health coverage expansion efforts: * small, fast-track grants to support policy planning work; and * large demonstration grants to support the design and implementation of significant coverage expansion programs. To learn more about the grants and to access applications, visit http://statecoverage.net/grants.htm. For more information, contact Vickie Gates at gates@ahsrhp.org or 202-292-6700.