2008
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Proposed RI Medicaid Plan May Mean Service Changes
State lawmakers faced with a massive budget crisis will soon debate a first-in-the-nation plan to change Rhode Island’s Medicaid system, a proposal that would steer hundreds of elderly people away from nursing homes and reduce medical services for the poor. Gov. Don Carcieri, a Republican, reached the deal with President George W. Bush’s administration Friday,…
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Fact Sheet on Senator Baucus’ Call to Action
This fact sheet provides a review of the key provisions of Senator Baucus’ white paper on health reform.
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Necessary Medicine?
President-elect Barack Obama placed a heavy bet last week that the recession-wracked country he is about to inherit has finally reached its tipping point on health care. It might seem counter-intuitive to gamble that political and economic forces would converge at such a low point after more than half a century of failure. The Treasury…
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States Ask Feds for Health Care Help
In Utah, lawmakers have ended some physical therapy, vision and hearing services offered under Medicaid, the national health insurance program that serves 59 million needy. Nevada has capped enrollment in its state children’s health insurance program (SCHIP). California, looking at a potential budget hole of more than $28 billion, is also considering freezing enrollment in…
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University Study on Health Care Losses Includes Martinsville Family
A Martinsville man and his family were highlighted in a recent Georgetown University study on the impact of the growing economic crisis on children’s health care. Greg Secrest of Martinsville worked at American of Martinsville for 10 years before he lost his job Aug. 29 due to the company’s move of production overseas. Not only…
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Georgetown Report Finds Progress on Children’s Health Care Coverage Threatened by Economy
Washington — Ten years of progress on children’s health care coverage is threatened by increasing unemployment, declining state revenues, and a growing affordability gap between family income and the cost of healthcare coverage, according to a report released today by the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute. “When a parent…
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Georgetown CCF Director Comments on Senator Baucus’s Call to Action: Health Reform 2009
I want to commend Senator Baucus for his leadership in moving the debate forward on health reform. As unemployment rises and more and more families lose access to affordable healthcare coverage, it is essential that the federal government take action. Senator Baucus’s proposal wisely builds upon key public programs such as Medicaid and the State…
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Keeping the Promise to Children and Families in Tough Economic Times
Ten years of progress on children’s health care coverage is threatened by increasing unemployment, declining state revenues, and a growing affordability gap between family income and the cost of healthcare coverage. This report estimates that over the past year, 4.1 million people have lost their employer-based coverage, including 1.2 million children. It offers options to…
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West Virginia’s Medicaid Redesign
Author: Joan Alker West Virginia Interim Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability Testimony Document October 15, 2008
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Florida’s Experience with Medicaid Reform: What has been Learned in the First Two Years?
Two years after the launch of Florida’s Medicaid reform pilot it appears that beneficiaries’ access to heath care has worsened and financial benefits for the State of Florida remain unknown. Beneficiaries and providers think the Medicaid program has become more complex with more paperwork as a result of reform, and there are signs that access…
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Statement on President Bush’s Veto of the SCHIP Reauthorization Bill
Cindy Mann, executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, issued the following statement on President Bush’s veto of legislation reauthorizing the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP): President Bush’s veto of legislation to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program places political ideology above the urgent need to ensure that children…
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Now We Know: Lessons from a Decade of Health Coverage Simplification and Outreach
Author: Tricia Brooks Center on Budget and Policy Priorities — Presentation Document September 2008
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Postcards from CCF – Louisiana
Louisiana has done an incredible job of reducing the number of children who lose coverage for LaCHIP (Louisiana’s Medicaid or SCHIP) at renewal. What’s the secret to success? Ruth Kennedy, LaCHIP’s director, provides us with the answers. (Additional resources on Louisiana’s renewal processes are also available at the end of the interview.) CCF It is…
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Getting to the Finish Line on Children’s Coverage
Author: Cindy Mann, National Health Policy Forum — Presentation Document September 2008
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Postcards from CCF – Wisconsin (ACCESS)
Wisconsin is one of those quiet, competent places that doesn’t toot its own horn much. It sits back and takes all those cracks about being the cheese capital of the nation while working diligently on innovations to improve the quality of life for its residents. That’s why it is no surprise that Wisconsin is a…
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Expanding the State Children’s Health Insurance Program Helps Low-Income, Uninsured Children the Most
WASHINGTON – The Center for Children and Families has released new data on the enrollment experiences of four states that expanded eligibility for their State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in a fact sheet entitled, Putting Out the Welcome Mat: Implications of Coverage Expansions for Already-Eligible Children. The new data indicate that half to two-thirds…
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Program Design Snapshot: Public Coverage Waiting Periods for Children
By Martha Heberlein “Waiting period” refers to the length of time a child is required to be uninsured prior to enrolling in a public health coverage program. The restriction generally applies to separate SCHIP programs only, as waiting periods are not permitted in Medicaid without a waiver. Waiting periods are primarily designed to deter crowd…
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States Moving Forward: Children’s Health Coverage in 2007-08
To a surprising extent, given the weakening economy and growing fiscal strains, states have continued to move forward in their efforts to expand and improve health coverage for children. Notably, over the last year, nineteen states provided health coverage for more uninsured children and families by expanding Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program…
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Putting Out the Welcome Mat: Implications of Coverage Expansions for Already-Eligible Children
By Jocelyn Guyer This fact sheet reports data from four states, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, that have expanded eligibility. The data indicates that “putting out the welcome mat” and offering affordable coverage options through public programs to a broad array of uninsured children in a state can have a powerful effect on the enrollment…
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R.I. Seeks Limits on Medicaid Spending
Facing a severe budget shortfall, Rhode Island officials areseeking unprecedented authority to rein in Medicaid spending in a move that has alarmed Democrats in Congress and advocates for the poor. The plan outlined by Rhode Island officials could save the state millions of dollars, but critics say it would limit access to nursing homes, charge…