The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded $70.9 million in grants to 13 states to support expansion of healthcare coverage for their uninsured populations.

The grants are funded under the State Health Access Program (SHAP) a new program that is an outgrowth of HHS’s State Planning Grant Program that operated from 2000 to 2007.

They "will help more states provide affordable insurance to specific uninsured groups, such as children and seniors. The funds will also assist states in implementing new initiatives for reaching the uninsured," said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

The grants, which will be made over a five-year period, require a 20 percent state match unless the state can demonstrate some kind of financial hardship. The states must also show they can sustain their programs once the HHS grant ends.

The fiscal year 2009 grants were awarded to:

1. Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, $9,966,612;

1. Kansas Health Policy Authority, $1,930,490;

1. State of Maine/Governor’s Office of Health Policy & Finance, $8.5 million;

1. Minnesota State Department of Human Services, $4,641,776;

1. Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, $4 million;

1. Health Research/New York State Department of Health, $2,670,930;

1. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, $1,264,097;

1. State of Oregon, $9,978,000;

1. Texas Health & Human Services Commission, $9,513,413;

1. Virginia State Department of Health, $912,658;

1. State of Washington, $1,228,042;

1. West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, $6,343,900; and

1. Wisconsin Department of Health Services, $9,995,188.