2009
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States are Not Waiting for Health Reform Passage to Move Forward on Children’s Health Coverage
By Martha Heberlein Today, three more states moved forward with their plans to expand affordable health coverage to more uninsured children, implementing expansions they passed earlier in the year. These three states are among the twenty-three that improved child and family health coverage this year. Starting today: Uninsured Alabama children in families earning up to…
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HHS Awards $40 Million in Outreach and Enrollment Grants
Yesterday, Secretary Sebelius awarded $40 million to 69 grantees in 41 states and the District of Columbia to find and enroll children who are uninsured but eligible for Medicaid or CHIP. This is the first round of outreach and enrollment grants funded through the Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA), which was signed by President…
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Senate Finance Committee Moves Forward
Its been a busy week here in Washington with action on health care reform. All eyes were on the Senate Finance Committee, which, as Jocelyn Guyer blogged about last week, started working on their markup of the bill. The Committee is in its second week of mark-up with hundreds of amendments and is likely to…
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Digging in Deeper on the Question of Affordable Premiums in the Senate Finance Committee Mark
By Martha Heberlein What is “affordable” has long been a hot-button issue in the health reform debate. In fact, much of the criticism following the release of the Senate Finance Committee mark centered on this very question. Although there is no consensus on the definition, looking at how much low-income families in public program currently…
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Children’s Health Insurance Program Could be Axed
The Charleston Gazette September 24, 2009 CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Children’s Health Insurance Program would be eliminated by the health care reform bills now before Congress. None of the bills provide a specific replacement for the popular program, according to national child advocacy groups. “CHIP has been an enormously successful program, and it’s not clear…
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Senate Finance Committee Moves Forward: Key Issues for Child and Family Coverage
By Jocelyn Guyer The Senate Finance Committee began its markup yesterday and moved into high gear today, taking votes for the first time on amendments. Senator Baucus released his mark last Wednesday, September 15th and was immediately deluged with over 500 amendments. Yesterday, he released a revised version that incorporates some of the amendments. From…
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CHIPRA Can Help Improve Health Care for Non-English Speakers
Jon Peacock, Wisconsin Council on Children and Families The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) approved by Congress early this year gives states financial assistance and policy options that help states maintain and improve coverage of kids. One source of financial assistance that has gotten less attention is an enhanced federal match rate for…
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Enrollment Reopens in California’s CHIP Program
Just two months after freezing enrollment in the Healthy Families Program and initiating a waitlist, enrollment has reopened in California Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). A budget shortfall of just under $200 million has been plugged by a generous contribution from the state’s First Five Commission, increased family cost-sharing, and a new premium tax on…
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Postcards from CCF — Tennessee
This month, CCF is heading to Nashville, Tennessee to listen to the new beat coming out of “Music City, USA.” Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen recently changed his tune and announced that on March 1, enrollment will resume for CoverKids, the state’s CHIP program. The Governor had frozen enrollment in November but, after a public outcry,…
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23 States Improve Children’s Coverage Despite Economic Slump
Washington, D.C. — Twenty-three states expanded or improved children’s health coverage programs this year despite a tough economic climate, according to a report by the Center for Children and Families (CCF) at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute. “Last year, the strong support for children’s health coverage at the state and national level helped to drive…
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Good News for Uninsured Children Should Jumpstart Health Reform
By Jocelyn Guyer In 2008, the number of uninsured children in the United States hit the lowest level in two decades. If Congress weren’t in the middle of a fierce debate on health reform, there would be time for everyone to celebrate a remarkable achievement and maybe even pause to reflect on how it was…
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Access to Care for Children in Medicaid
Medicaidʼs Substantial Coverage Role for Children Medicaid covers more than 23 million children, more than one-quarter of all children, and more than half of low income children.1 Between 1997 and 2006, the proportion of low-income uninsured children fell from to 23 percent to 15 percent;2 success that is largely attributable to the role that Medicaid…
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Is There Oral Health in Health Reform?
Author: Tricia Brooks New England Rural Oral Health Conference — Presentation Documents September 2009
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Children Gain Insurance, Adults Lose in 2008
Kaiser Health News September 10, 2009 More children had health insurance last year, partially offsetting a growing number of adults who lacked coverage as the troubled economy helped push insurance out of reach for many workers. Different Counts The Census Bureau, to determine the uninsured rate, asks people to recall their insurance status for…
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Number of Uninsured Children Drops to Lowest Level Since 1987, Outlook Bleaker for Parents and Other Adults
By Jocelyn Guyer The new Census report shows that the number of uninsured children in the United States is at the lowest level since 1987. In 2008, there were 7.3 million uninsured children, a decline of 800,000 from 8.1 million in 2007. This progress occurred despite reductions in private health insurance coverage and a difficult…
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The Stories of Jacob and Isabel: Will Their Needs Be Met by Health Reform?
As health reform discussions continue, one key question that will be addressed is what benefits will children be eligible for and how much will they cost? Because they are growing and developing, children have a distinct set of health care needs that evolve over time and differ from those of adults. Moreover, while as a…
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300% or 400%? A Big Difference for Families
By Martha Heberlein A primary reason many people lack insurance coverage is that they cannot afford it. For the last decade, growth in premiums has far outpaced growth in wages and the cost of private coverage is often out of reach for low- and moderate-income families. One goal of health reform is to provide subsidies…
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Implementation Choices for the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009
The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) of 2009 has the potential to transform children’s health care in the United States. This report analyzes selected provisions of the legislation that involve outreach and enrollment, as well as child health quality and measurement. Using input from interviews with a range of stakeholders and a panel…
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Children and Health Care Reform: Assuring Coverage Meets Their Health Care Needs
Because they are growing and developing, children have a distinct set of health care needs that evolve over time and differ from those of adults. Moreover, while as a group children are relatively healthy, one in seven has special health care needs. Given that under reform, many children will be covered through private plans and…
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Congress Should Build On What Works by Looking to CHIP & Medicaid in Health Reform
By Joe Touschner “Fix what’s broken and build on what works.” It’s President Obama’s mantra for health reform. It may be hard to see how Congress will accomplish that when so far we’ve only seen proposals that would eliminate (as we know it) a program that works well–CHIP–and move the children it covers to Medicaid…