Topic Areas
Over the course of the program, Maximizing Enrollment worked to assist the eight participating states in developing and implementing strategies to help enroll and retain more eligible but uninsured children and prepare for national health care reform implementation. Maximizing Enrollment also helped the states measure their progress in these areas. The work of the program focused on systems, policies, and procedures within four core topic areas, listed below, crucial to states’ improvement efforts. Research and resources sharing the participating states’ experiences and lessons learned from the program can be found on the resources tab above.
Maximizing Enrollment worked with the participating eight states to test the effectiveness of known enrollment strategies and to identify new strategies to enroll those eligible for Medicaid and CHIP. Through technical assistance provided by the program, the participating states implemented a variety of enrollment system and policy improvements and assisted in data collection and analysis to measure progress.
Churn, the extent to which program enrollees lose and then regain coverage, is a critical issue in states’ efforts to enroll and retain those who are eligible for public and publically subsidized coverage. Through Maximizing Enrollment participating states tested strategies, assessed new policy options, and exchanged information to improve retention rates.
During the initial phase of Maximizing Enrollment, the participating states underwent a diagnostic assessment to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and retention systems, policies and procedures. The results of the assessment helped states prioritize areas to focus improvement strategies during the program.
Using funds and technical assistance provided through Maximizing Enrollment participating states were able to assess their data collection capacity and address challenges in this area. With increased access to and analysis of data, states are better able to understand the impact of changes they make to their enrollment and retention systems and policies.