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Current News
Learn how CHIP and its community center partners are working to improve quality heath care for Maryland’s uninsured and underserved:
HHS Secretary Sebelius Announces Release of $6 Billion in New CHIP Funds to Insure Children
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced that $6 billion in new federal funds will be made available to states and U.S. territories for fiscal year 2009 to provide health care to millions of children across America through their Children's Health Insurance Programs (CHIP).
HHS Secretary Sebelius Announces Release of $6 Billion in New CHIP Funds to Insure Children
Maryland awarded nearly $1M for electronic health records
Maryland health clinics will receive up to $951,000 this year in federal funds to pay for new electronic health records.
Funding for the project was part of a $410 billion Omnibus Appropriations Act signed by President Barack Obama last month. The legislation funds the operations of the federal government through Sept. 30.
To read more: http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2009/04/13/daily4.html?surround=etf
Senate committee confirms Sebelius as HHS secretary
Tuesday the Senate confirmed Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius to join President Barack Obama's cabinet as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary. As HHS Secretary, Sebelius will be responsible for more that $100 billion allotted to healthcare in the stimulus package and an estimated $17 billion in incentives for Medicare and Medicaid providers who can prove "meaningful use" of their EHRs. Sebelius is a strong supporter of innovations in health information technology and believes that an investment in EHRs will lay the foundation for a 21st Century system of reduced medical errors, lower healthcare costs and empowered consumers
To read more: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/senate-committee-confirms-sebelius-hhs-secretary
HHS Releases $338 Million to Expand Community Health Centers, Serve More Patients
Grants Will Support Centers That Care for the Uninsured, Support Up to 6,400 Jobs
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced the release of $338 million to expand services offered at the nation's community health centers. The money was made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and comes as more Americans join the ranks of the uninsured.
"More Americans are losing their health insurance and turning to health centers for care," said Health Resources and Services Administrator
(HRSA) Mary Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N. "These grants will aid centers in their efforts to provide care to an increasing number of patients during the economic downturn."
The grants — titled Increased Demand for Services (IDS) grants — will be distributed to 1,128 federally qualified health center grantees.
Health centers will use the funds over the next two years to create or retain approximately 6,400 health center jobs.
Grantees submitted plans explaining how the IDS funds would be used.
Strategies to expand services may include, but are not limited to, adding new providers, expanding hours of operations or expanding services. The funds will provide care to an additional 2.1 million patients over the next two years, including approximately 1 million uninsured people.
Health centers deliver preventive and primary care services to patients regardless of their ability to pay; charges for services are set according to income. Health centers served more than 16 million patients in 2007, about 40 percent of whom had no health insurance.
The IDS awards are the second set of health center grants provided through the Recovery Act. On March 2, President Obama announced grants worth $155 million to establish 126 new health centers. Those grants will provide access to health center care for 750,000 people in 39 states and two territories.
To see a list of grantees by state, go to
http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/programs/hrsa/idsgawards.html. To find a health center near you or to learn more about health centers, visit http://bphc.hrsa.gov/.The activities described in this release are being funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). To track the progress of HHS activities funded through the ARRA, visit
www.hhs.gov/recovery. To track all federal funds provided through the ARRA, visit www.recovery.gov.HRSA Awards $18 Million to Expand Use of Health Information Technology at Health Centers
Download the press release. (PDF)
