Initiative aims to mobilize and empower organizations throughout the Commonwealth to help address vaccine hesitancy and increase vaccinations
LEXINGTON, KY – Kentucky Association of Health Plans (KAHP), the trade association representing all carriers offering health coverage in Kentucky, on Friday, October 8, 2021 announced a new “Healthy Together Through Vaccinations” community grant program. The initiative aims to increase COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and access by empowering organizations across KY with grants of up to $25,000 to pursue efforts toward improving vaccination rates.
Eligible organizations include:
• Non-profits
• Local health departments
• Community Health Centers
• Schools
• Faith centers
• Local civic groups
• Private health providers
• Other local organizations with strong standing in their community.
Groups interested in using the funds for outreach, communication, education, training, transportation, or support can find more details and apply by visiting KAHP.org. Organizations are eligible to apply for a grant if they serve community members who reside in any Kentucky county. Prioritization will be placed on funding projects in counties with vaccination rates below 40%.
“KAHP has been the most prominent organization in the Commonwealth when it comes to offering incentives, promotions, and programming around vaccinations, to the point where we were fielding a high volume of partnership inquiries,” said executive director, Tom Stephens. “The grant program is our way of formalizing the process and empowering groups to scale-up or stand-up outreach that they think best fits their community. After lagging early, KY has outpaced vaccination rates in the country since July. Health plans are continuing to press the pace because vaccines are clearly the best defense against hospitalization and death.”
KAHP recently completed a Disney trip sweepstakes for 20 grand prize winners who received their shots during the month of September.
In partnership with Volunteers of America Mid-states, KAHP launched “Take 1 for the Team,” a hyper-local, targeted vaccine outreach and incentive campaign in Clay County, which combines heavy digital advertising featuring local influencers like pastors, coaches, doctors, and others, as well as offers for free food, free drawings for cash prizes, a free professional wrestling match, and a competition between local schools for $6,000 in sports equipment.
KAHP provided an unlimited ride wristband and $20 gift card to all individuals who received the vaccine at the Kentucky State Fair.
In June, KAHP visited Mercer, Montgomery, Estill, Nicholas, and Rockcastle Counties for a “Hottest Concerts” ticket giveaway at county health departments. KAHP visited the Lee, Owsley, Breathitt, Magoffin, and Leslie County Health Departments and gave away $100 Visa gift cards to those who received the shot. KAHP also held their “Shots Across the Bluegrass” Live Broadcast & Pop-up Vaccination Clinic Tour with Kentucky Sports Radio, with stops in Barren, Green, McCracken, Clay, and Laurel Counties.
The state’s vaccine dashboard shows 2,727,193 Kentuckians have received at least one dose of a vaccine. That is 61% of the population—a better number than 5 of the 7 states bordering Kentucky.
Kentucky’s Medicaid Managed Care Organizations and commercial insurers are reaching their members through digital and radio ads, robust cash incentives, transportation coordination, pop-up clinics, clinics staffed by bilingual personnel, homebound vaccination visits, text and email campaigns, yard signs, billboards, outbound calls to members prioritized by risk tier, personalized assistance from advocates with sign-ups and digital site navigation, direct mail, and follow-up on second dose appointments based on claims data.
About Kentucky Association of Health Plans:
Kentucky Association of Health Plans is the trade organization representing the Kentucky health insurance community. KAHP is a leader on issues that strengthen the accessibility, value, and quality of health care in the Commonwealth. Members include Aetna, Anthem, CareSource, Humana, Passport, UnitedHealth Group and WellCare. For more information visit: www.kahp.org or follow @kyhealthplans on Twitter.
