A very big GOOD JOB to the 23 states who earned this "bonus" ~ over a million more children now have health coverage ~  ~ and shame on the states that didn't qualify ~ Sooz

To qualify for the bonuses, states needed to surpass a specified enrollment target under the Medicaid program for low-income Americans and adopt procedures that make it easier for children to enroll and retain coverage under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

The performance bonus payments are designed help offset costs states incur when they enroll lower income children in Medicaid. They are funded under the 2009 Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act.

Since CHIP was reauthorized in 2009, the number of children with insurance has risen by 1.2 million, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The 23 states eligible for performance bonuses are: Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

(Reporting By Lewis Krauskopf; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/12/29/federal-government-to-give-states-300-million-for-child-health-coverage/

I found that surprising, too, mac ~ and it pisses me off because providing health care for children should not be a partisan issue ~

Sooz