Pittsburgh receives $200,000 grant to enroll children in health insurance plans

July 14--Pittsburgh has won a $200,000 grant to sign up hundreds of children who are eligible for public health insurance plans but are not enrolled.

The 18-month grant from the National League of Cities, announced today, will be used to launch an outreach program and hire staff to enroll the estimated 2,000 children in Pittsburgh who qualify for Medicaid and the Pennsylvania Children's Health Insurance Program but are not signed up, either because their parents are unaware they qualify or because they were previously registered and dropped from the rolls.

"As a whole, improving the health of our city is a priority of the mayor," said Betty Cruz, Mayor Bill Peduto's nonprofit and faith-based manager. "We're so excited to finally see it come to fruition."

The city's Bureau of Neighborhood Empowerment and the Allegheny County Health Department will work the Consumer Health Coalition, Allies for Children and other groups to launch the program, which will seek out uninsured kids under 19. Those children are more likely to have untreated medical conditions, often lack access to prescription drugs, and are less likely to get medical attention when they are injured, a city news release says.

Though the grant requires the city to sign up at least 50 percent of uninsured children, Ms. Cruz said Mr. Peduto's administration expects to exceed that figure.

"Our goal is to achieve 100 percent in the mayor's first term," she said.

Robert Zullo: [email protected] or 412-263-3909. Twitter: @rczullo.

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