States receive $206 million in Medicaid performance bonuses Posted: December 30th, 2010

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has identified 15 states that have met federal standards for enrolling children in Medicaid programs. By meeting enrollment and application goals, the states will receive a combined $206 million in performance bonuses.

In 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA). The law included performance bonuses to states able to streamline the application process, improve renewal procedures and increase outreach to eligible children and their families.

Together, the 15 states enrolled 900,000 children in their Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) plans. In addition, some states enacted reforms such as creating "presumptive eligibility" to quickly provide medical coverage to children while their full eligibility was being determined.

Here are the 15 high-performing states and their bonus amounts:

• Alabama: $55.9 million
• Alaska: $4.4 million
• Colorado: $13.6 million
• Illinois: $14.9 million
• Iowa: $6.7 million
• Kansas: $2.5 million
• Louisiana: $3.5 million
• Maryland: $10.5 million
• Michigan: $9.2 million
• New Jersey: $8.7 million
• New Mexico: $8.5 million
• Ohio: $12.3 million
• Oregon: $15 million
• Washington: $17.6 million
• Wisconsin: $23 million