I am not on the Advisory
Panel, but I still want to contribute to this process.
How do I get involved?A town hall meeting
will be scheduled in the upcoming year. This will
offer an excellent opportunity for your opinions to be
heard by officials at the Department of Health, as well
as by project staff and Advisory Panel members. If you
are interested in speaking at this town hall meeting,
please contact the Department of Health at (202)
442-9381 or
email.
In addition, the Department welcomes written comments at
any time via
email
or postal mail (address: 825 North Capitol Street, NE,
3rd Floor, Washington, DC 20002). A summary of the
public comments will be placed on the project web page.
How was the Advisory Panel
chosen?
The Advisory Panel members were named by the
Director of the Department of Health, with input
from the grant team. The Panel represents a wide
range of voices. It includes small businesses that
would like to buy insurance for their workers,
providers who treat people without insurance,
community advocates who see first-hand the problems
that uninsured residents face, and District
officials. The goal is to bring all key
representatives together to share important
information about improving health coverage and to
educate the community about what can be done to
decrease the number of uninsured.
What is the State Planning
Grant Program?
The State Planning Grant Program provides federal
funding to states to develop plans for improving
access to affordable health insurance coverage for
all their citizens. Different states have taken
different approaches to this problem.
What do states produce under
their planning grants?
All of the states that have received grant funds
must submit a report to the federal funding agency -
HRSA. Each state report must identify the
characteristics of the uninsured and propose ways to
improve their access to health coverage. More
importantly, the grant projects help state
policymakers who want to expand coverage. For
example, Maine’s current expansion program, Dirigo
Health, grew out of that state’s grant. In addition,
prior state reports provide background data on the
uninsured and expansion plans that can help the
District’s own efforts.
How can I learn more about other states’ plans?
The State Coverage Initiative program at the
AcademyHealth in Washington, DC, has a
complete list of state projects, with links to their
websites and reports. Maryland completed its plan
in 2003, and Virginia was just funded during the
last round of grant awards along with the District.
You can also email the State Planning Grant office
for more information.
How is the federal program administered?
This grant program is administered by
HRSA’s Office
of Special Programs. The Health Resources and
Services Administration is a branch of the US
Department of Health and Human Services and is
located in Rockville, MD.
