Year-end Spotlight on National Partners and Campaign Initiatives

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Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provide health coverage for nearly half of the nation’s children. As of August 2024, more than 37.6 million kids have coverage through these programs. The Connecting Kids to Coverage National Campaign partners with more than 50 national organizations to keep current beneficiaries covered, and help enroll those who are eligible, but unenrolled. This month, we’re thrilled to highlight three partners whose resources may be helpful to your outreach – the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and National Association of School Nurses (NASN).

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The Administration for Children and Families: The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) promotes the economic and social well-being of families, children, youth, individuals, and communities. ACF has a variety of resources to explore and help deepen outreach in your community, like The Family Room Blog, research reports, Tribal and Native Affairs initiatives, and a Resource Library that includes fact sheets, flyers, toolkits, videos, and more. The Campaign and ACF partner often to share important Medicaid and CHIP information in ACF’s Child Support Report eNewsletter at key times of year, including Mental Health Awareness Month and the Back-to-School season. Keep up with ACF on Twitter/X, Instagram, and Facebook.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the nation’s leading health protection agency that works to save our nation from health, safety, and security threats in a variety of ways, including encouraging childhood vaccinations. CDC has several resources that can support your outreach including the Let’s RISE initiative, toolkits for educational professionals and health care providers, a flyer on free vaccines for kids, the Keep It That Way campaign, and more to help encourage vaccine uptake. Representatives from the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health also recently spoke as part of the Campaign’s “Gearing Up to Learn with Medicaid and CHIP” webinar.  Keep up with CDC on Twitter/X, Instagram, and Facebook.

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National Association of School of Nurses: National Association of School Nurses (NASN) aims to optimize student health and learning by advancing the practice of school nursing. Nurses are trusted sources of information and can play an important role in educating families on the importance of having health coverage and helping connect families to enrollment resources. NASN has a suite of materials including fact sheets, toolkits, a weekly newsletter, and more that can help organizations connect to and partner with the school nurses in your community. Keep up with NASN on Instagram and Facebook.

End of Year Campaign Highlights

Throughout the year, the Campaign conducts several key initiatives to Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and retention, as well as promote key coverage benefits. As 2024 comes to a close, we hope you’ll revisit some of this year’s initiatives and resources – and consider how your organization might participate in enrollment efforts in 2025. Some 2024 highlights include:

• February – National Children’s Dental Health Month. Throughout February, the Campaign shared oral health resources and materials found on our Oral Health initiative page to encourage families to use the dental health services covered through Medicaid and CHIP. This includes social copy , videos, print materials , and an oral health webinar focused on the connection between oral health and mental health.
• May – Mental Health Awareness Month. For Mental Health Awareness Month in May, the Campaign spread awareness of the comprehensive mental and behavioral health services Medicaid and CHIP cover year-round. The Campaign shared videos, social copy , poster , and held a Mental Health webinar focused on promoting school-based mental and behavioral health services.
• July-September – Back-to-School Season. The Campaign used the Back-to-School (BTS) season to ensure kids and teens get routine check-ups, dental care, eye exams, and updated vaccinations through Medicaid and CHIP as they head back to the classroom. The campaign shared a variety of BTS resources including social copy , posters , toolkit , eNewsletter template , and more. A national radio media tour was also scheduled in English in Spanish to directly reach families with important enrollment information and reminders to get vaccinated before the new school year. The Campaign also held a BTS webinar emphasizing the importance of immunizations and held a partner roundtable to learn more about how organizations are using Campaign materials and  how the Campaign can better serve partners.