By The newspaper
Aug 19, 2023, 22:30 PM EDT
The New Jersey Department of Human Services has made $250,000 in grants available to organizations to provide education, outreach, and application assistance to low-income and immigrant communities to help uninsured children who are eligible for NJ FamilyCare get enroll in the state’s publicly funded insurance program.
“This grant program continues the Murphy Administration’s efforts to expand access to health care for all New Jersey children and to get uninsured children who are eligible for NJ FamilyCare covered. Ensuring access to health care for New Jersey’s children will pay health and economic dividends throughout their lives,” said Sarah Adelman, Commissioner of Human Services.
Under the name Cover All Kids, health coverage through NJ FamilyCare is offered to New Jersey children under the age of 19 who meet income requirements and regardless of immigration status.
Its launch was in 2021, when more than 86,000 children in the state who were eligible but not enrolled ended up insured by NJ FamilyCare.
When Cover All Kids expanded coverage to all income-eligible children, regardless of immigration status in 2023, more than 24,000 children were covered by this insurance.
“More children in New Jersey now have access to primary care, dental, vision and behavioral health coverage and other benefits through NJ FamilyCare, and we know there are more we need to reach. Partnering with trusted organizations in the community will help us connect more eligible families to health coverage,” Adelman said.
The Department of Human Services’ Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services is expected to review the grant proposals and award up to six grants in the fall.
Requirements for Cover All Kids applicants
According to the department, applicants will need to demonstrate that they have established relationships with the communities they serve and experience working with the populations they target, including undocumented immigrant populations.
Assistant Commissioner Jennifer Langer Jacobs, who heads the Division of Medical Assistance and Health Services, noted that eligible families are encouraged to apply for health coverage to protect their children’s health, noting that uninsured children now have medical coverage thanks to Cover All Kids.
“We are doing everything we can to eliminate fear or mistrust that may prevent families from seeking services for which they qualify,” added Jacobs.
The department said they expect grantees to engage uninsured, undocumented families and caregivers and offer application assistance.
“Promote medical equity and build trust between immigrant communities and the NJ FamilyCare program through culturally competent and language accessible outreach and education activities; and improve the medical knowledge of New Jersey families regarding the benefits of having health coverage and the importance of maintaining and utilizing the benefits that NJ FamilyCare offers,” the department said.
Grant proposals must be submitted by September 1, the department said. The declaration of intent to apply should have been delivered before last August 11.
The Cover All Kids initiative was launched in two phases: the first phase eliminated the 90-day waiting period for children to obtain coverage after enrolling in the New Jersey Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and eliminated premiums that families would have paid for children enrolled in CHIP.
Meanwhile, the second phase expanded eligibility requirements, ensuring that those under 19 with sufficient income get health coverage regardless of their immigration status.
Starting Jan. 1, 2024, undocumented children who meet the same requirements as Medicaid children will be able to get standard coverage, the department said.