The U.S. government intends to enroll 5 million children in the federal Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) within the next five years.

Kathleen Sebelius

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced the goal for the Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge Sept. 3.

Since Sebelius announced the challenge last February, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have built a coalition of partners, ranging from state governors to national advocacy organizations, who have stepped up to the challenge to enroll kids and educate families, according to a government statement.

Although health coverage is currently available to children in families with incomes up to about $45,000 per year in nearly every state, an estimated 5 uninsured children are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP but not enrolled, Sebelius and Duncan said.

“Nothing is more important to our future than the health of our children. No child should have to skip a doctor’s appointment or go without the medicine they need because their family can’t pay,” Sebelius said in the statement. “Despite the great advances that states have made over the years, there are nearly 5 million uninsured children who are currently eligible for coverage but are not enrolled. I’m challenging everyone, from my state and federal counterparts, to local governments and community-based organizations, to health centers and school districts, to faith-based groups and Indian tribes, to take this conversation about children’s coverage to the next level – to find and enroll those five million kids.”

”If a child is not healthy, he or she cannot learn,” Duncan said. “The education community has a critical role to play in finding and enrolling eligible children. We’re working to involve every member of the school community, including superintendents, principals, teachers, school nurses, and lunch room staff in meeting this achievable challenge.”

Sebelius and Duncan said an estimated 7.3 million children were uninsured on an average day in 2008, of whom 4.7 million (65%) were eligible for Medicaid or CHIP but not enrolled.

CHIPRA, combined with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) and its recent extension of increased federal Medicaid funding, has given states federal support that has enabled them to keep providing essential health services for low-income families through Medicaid during the economic downturn.