Hodges is one

of about 200 employees in HCFA's Atlanta regional office.

Hodges was

honored for her outstanding work with the eight-state region on the State

Children's Health Insurance Program, and her efforts to enroll more eligible

beneficiaries in the Medicaid program and provide additional medical services

to the beneficiaries.

Medicaid, a

joint federal-state health insurance program, provides medical help for

categories of low-income and needy people. Each state operates its own

Medicaid program and receives federal matching funds.

"Tandra

Hodges has shown exceptional leadership skills in working with the eight

Southeastern states on the SCHIP program to ensure that eligible children

receive health insurance coverage," DeParle said. "She also

has helped develop comprehensive plans for increasing enrollment of beneficiaries

in Medicaid."

"We are

proud of Tandra and her outstanding efforts to assist beneficiaries,"

said Rose Crum-Johnson, HCFA regional administrator in Atlanta. "Her

strong commitment to customer service has been invaluable to the agency."

SCHIP is the

largest single expansion of health insurance coverage for children in

more than 30 years. Today, nearly 1.1 million American children one in

seven are uninsured. The program was designed to reach these children,

many of whom come from working families with incomes too high to qualify

for Medicaid but too low to afford private health insurance.

This initiative,

created by the bipartisan Balanced Budget Act of 1997, set aside $24 billion

over five years for states to provide new health care coverage for millions

of children the largest children's health care investment since the creation

of Medicaid in 1965. States are able to use part of their federal funds

to expand outreach and ensure that all children eligible for Medicaid

and SCHIP are enrolled.

A Pensacola,

Fla. native, Hodges graduated in 1983 from Pensacola High School. She

graduated magna cum laude with an associate of science degree in business

administration in May 2000 from Georgia Military College in Milledgeville.

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