E3 Health Initiative

In July 2014 the City of Hattiesburg was awarded a $250,000 grant from the National League of Cities to address a health coverage crisis in Hattiesburg. The E3 Health Initiative is aims at reducing the number of uninsured children and families in Hattiesburg by providing technical assistance to those seeking to obtain health coverage through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Plan (CHIP). In the Lillie Burney Elementary, Rowan Elementary, and Hawkins Elementary school zones alone there are roughly 19,000 people. Of those, 6,000 are eligible for Medicaid/CHIP but are unenrolled. The E3 Health Initiative is temporary grant funded program that will last 18 months. By December 2015, the program hopes to reduce the number of uninsured in those school zones by 50%, enrolling 3,000 people in health insurance.

With changes to the state Medicaid policies as well as national changes to health care law, there are new barriers facing those eligible to apply for Mediciad/CHIP. One of those barriers is that applications are now predominately submitted online. Based on the demographics of the eligible population, many of these individuals do not have access to the equipment needed to successfully complete the application process. The hope of this program is to address some of these barriers and make it easier for people to get the health coverage they deserve.