Photo by Tracy Certo of NEXT Pittsburgh

“Pittsburgh is dubbed one of the most livable and most affordable cities in the nation and is known for its vibrant neighborhoods, world-class arts scene, top-rated health systems and friendly residents,” writes Patrick Dowd in his guest blog for citiespeak.org. ” Soon, it could be known for being the first city in the country to achieve 100 percent health insurance enrollment of children and youth. Thanks to a major grant from the National League of Cities (NLC), the Steel City may make history.

“The NLC’s Cities Expanding Health Access for Children and Families initiative awarded Pittsburgh $200,000 to implement local outreach efforts to enroll its youngest residents in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP),” Dowd continues. ” The plan, called Healthy Together, will target two thousand young people who have been the hardest to reach and most difficult to enroll. The Office of the Mayor will lead the work and collaborate with primary partners: Allies for Children, the Consumer Health Coalition and the Allegheny County Health Department.

Read more about the plan in Dowd’s blog post here.

A recent grad of Pitt's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, Ryan also has a degree in journalism. He has a passion for innovative ideas in Pittsburgh, green urban spaces, music and the outdoors. Thus far, Ryan has lived as a musician and freelance writer and works for the Hear Me project at the CREATE Lab at CMU, with hopes of changing policy based on the ideas of young people.