Report highlights tactics for increasing Medicaid enrollment, cites Ohio successes

A new report from the National Academy of State Health Policy outlines seven strategies the organizations contends every state should be using to ensure that all eligible children are enrolled in Medicaid or SCHIP.

The seven strategies states should pursue, according to the Robert Wood Johnson-funded report (pdf), are:
• Keeping enrollment and renewal procedures simple
• Reaching out through community-based organizations and institutions
• Using technology to coordinate programs and reduce administrative burdens
• Changing agency culture to promote enrollment
• Engaging leaders to champion the goal of enrolling children
• Engaging partners to help reach enrollment goals
• Using marketing to promote enrollment in public programs

Several steps taken by Ohio earlier this decade were mentioned as positive examples in the report. The state was singled out for its introduction in 2001 of a targeted health coverage outreach program for families enrolled in the school lunch program.

Ohio also was commended for its 2000 effort to simplify the application process, including the creation of a family application and reduction of verification requirements. According to the report, those changes resulted in a 22 percent enrollment increase in the traditional Medicaid program and a 25 percent enrollment increase in the combined Medicaid/SCHIP program.