PITTSBURGH, PA – The National League of Cities (NLC) has selected Pittsburgh as one of 12 cities nationwide to receive technical assistance and grant funding to conduct a six-month planning process to increase access to health insurance for our most vulnerable children and families.
Through the Cities Expanding Health Access for Children and Families initiative, Pittsburgh will receive a $30,000 grant and practical guidance from staff, leaders, and partners of the NLC in order to develop a comprehensive city-level strategy and outreach campaign to enroll children and families in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). NLC’s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families is coordinating the initiative as part of a multi-year effort to increase access to healthcare for children and families funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies.
Mayor-elect Bill Peduto, as part of this process, has convened a group of three Team Leaders and a diverse Task Force to assist the City of Pittsburgh in achieving its goals and providing healthcare access to every child and family that qualifies for Medicaid and CHIP. The Team Leaders are: Patrick Dowd, Executive Director of Allies for Children; Dr. Karen Hacker, Director of Allegheny County Health Department; and Beth Heeb, Executive Director of the Consumer Health Coalition. The members of the Task Force will be announced in the coming weeks.
“With the help of the National League of Cities and the local Team Leaders and Task Force who will guide this initiative, Pittsburgh has an incredible opportunity to reduce the number of children without access to healthcare to zero over the next several years. Healthcare is a human right and our city will be a better place when all children and families have access to the high quality care they deserve,” said Mayor-elect Peduto. “This grant is only possible because of the steps that we have taken over the past several months to re-engage Pittsburgh with the National League of Cities and other networks like it.”
During the final phase of this initiative six of the 12 grantee cities will be selected to receive an additional grant of up to $260,000 to fund the implementation of the strategy developed during this planning process. The other cities selected to receive this grant include: Aurora, CO; Columbia, PA; Dallas, TX; Garden City, MI; Hattiesburg, MS; Houston, TX; Jacksonville, FL; New Bedford, MA; Omaha, NE; Providence, RI; and Savannah, GA.
