2011
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Exchange Implementation Work Underway Across the Country
By Joe Touschner Don’t believe everything you read in the newspaper — while the national media has reported that states are moving “gingerly” to implement the Affordable Care Act, in fact there’s been a great deal of activity of late, especially around exchanges. No fewer than 16 state legislatures have acted favorably on measures that…
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Keeping on Track: The California Health Benefit Exchange (HBEX) Continues to Move Along
By Kathleen Hamilton (The Children’s Partnership) Nicette Short (Children Now) on behalf of the 100% Campaign California’s Health Benefit Exchange – now commonly known as HBEX – continued to press on with its work in a fast-paced manner and held two meetings in May, with another to be held tomorrow. The HBEX Board demonstrated its…
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It Can Be Complicated to Be A Kid
By Martha Heberlein Health reform creates many new options for children and families to secure coverage; however, as more options become available, children may face more complex coverage arrangements. In fact, recent estimates suggest that 20 million children live in situations that may make accessing coverage challenging due to differing eligibility status within their families. As…
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Senators Stand Shoulder-to-Shoulder to Defend Medicaid
Yesterday, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) announced that 41 senators would stand strong and support Medicaid during the ongoing budget deficit and debt ceiling negotiations. This is welcome news given the increased focus on Medicaid lately as the potential source of savings to rein in the deficit and cut a deal on the debt ceiling. All…
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Once Again, a Look at the State Budget Facts
By Martha Heberlein It seems that every time the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) releases a new report on the state of state budgets, another blog or paper is written to correct a misrepresentation of Medicaid’s role. Now, this is certainly not meant to be disparaging against NASBO – their reports are a…
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Capping Federal Spending Imperils Success on Kids Health
By Joe Touschner Some think that a good way to address federal deficits is to establish a cap on federal spending. A cap is needed, they say, to preserve the prosperity of future generations (i.e. today’s children). And a cap sounds like a simple and effective way to address the nation’s deficit. While politicians seem…
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Family-to-Family Organizations Provide Vital Support to Children with Special Health Care Needs
The Department of Health and Human Services recently announced $4.9 million in new funding to support families of children with special health care needs. The funding for the grants was made available through the new health reform law. Grants were awarded to state Family-to-Family Health Centers. For some of these groups, this is new funding…
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Florida Medicaid Transformation: Bad Policy & Bad Politics
Governor Rick Scott has now officially set in motion an ill-advised transformation of Florida’s Medicaid program that will place the health care of most Florida Medicaid beneficiaries into the hands of for-profit companies. The new law expands a managed care pilot program operating in five counties under a Section 1115 federal waiver. In moving ahead…
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Proposed Federal Spending Caps Threaten Successful Efforts on Children’s Health
Lawmakers in the House and Senate have proposed budget plans to address the federal deficit by capping spending, making deep cuts in Medicaid, and/or restructuring the way the nation finances health care for children, seniors, and people with disabilities. These budget plans will devastate the successful steps the nation has taken to provide quality, affordable…
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Obama Administration Opposes Medicaid Enrollees’ Access to Court
By Jane Perkins, Legal Director, National Health Law Program The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear Douglas v. Independent Living Center, a group of cases addressing whether Medicaid-participating providers and enrollees may enforce the Medicaid provider payment provision, 42 U.S.C. § 1396a(a)(30)(A), in court. Among other things, Section (30)(A) requires states to establish payments…
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Out of the Shadows: Exchange/Medicaid IT 2.0 Guidance Says No Need for Duplicate Eligibility Systems
In this week’s release of the Exchange/Medicaid IT 2.0 guidance, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) firmly squashed speculation that states will need to operate a “shadow eligibility system” for determining who is newly eligible for Medicaid and therefore qualifies for 100% federal funding. Future federal rulemaking is expected to propose other methods…
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Medicaid is the MVP of Children’s Health
By Jocelyn Guyer As I try to wrap my mind around the suggestion that CHIP’s success is a reason to convert Medicaid to a capped block grant, I wonder whether these guys have ever watched soccer or any team sport for that matter. Maybe I spent a little too much time on the soccer sidelines…
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A Win for Colorado Kids – Decrease in the Number of Uninsured
By Brittney Petersen, Colorado Community Health Network Amidst what is a fairly bleak time for states trying to expand coverage for kids, there is encouraging news that more kids are getting health coverage in Colorado. Two recent reports demonstrate a significant decline in the number of uninsured kids in Colorado between 2008 and 2009. The…
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Senate Majority Leader Shares his Views on Medicaid & CHIP
By Senator Harry Reid, Majority Leader Having grown up in a family that could not afford health care, I know how difficult it can be to go to a doctor when you need one. That’s one of the reasons I worked on health insurance reform. No person in the United States should go without care…
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WI Premium Increase Proposal Would Not Achieve Real Savings
By Wesley Prater A couple of months ago, Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin introduced his biennium budget for 2011-13 which consisted of cuts of nearly $500 million to Wisconsin’s BadgerCare Plus, the state’s Medicaid program. Additionally, the Governor’s Budget Repair Bill (yes, that same bill that would undermine collective bargaining rights) would give Wisconsin’s Department…
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Three States Move to Next Phase of Building their Health Benefits Exchanges
This week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded the first round of grants to help states establish health insurance exchanges. State officials in Washington, Indiana and Rhode Island were granted a total of $35 million to begin building their exchanges. In announcing the grants HHS said that the states “will use the…
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Public Support for Medicaid Similar to Medicare and Social Security
Opposition to cutting Medicare has dominated the news and public debate in recent weeks but a new poll by Kaiser shows Americans are equally resistant to changes in Medicaid. The Kaiser monthly tracking poll found that 60% of Americans like Medicaid the way it is. Public support for Medicaid was similar to that of Medicare and Social…
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The Impact of Premiums on Families in BadgerCare Plus
As Wisconsin considers increasing premiums in its Medicaid program,BadgerCare Plus, CCF researchers examined the impact of premiums on families in Wisconsin’s Medicaid program. In this policy brief, they look at the effect on participation in the program if premiums were increased or added for families between 100 and 200% of the FPL in BadgerCare Plus…
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Affordable Care Act Protecting Consumers from Premium Spikes
Health insurance premiums and gas prices have one thing in common – they are both rising at a time when oil and insurance companies are earning record profits. Most of us can figure out ways to cutback on our energy consumption to reduce our expenditures at the gas pump but cutting back on health care…
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Utah Improves Timeliness and Reduces Cost with E-Communications
In these days of tight budgets, states are looking for every single penny they can save. Our friends in Utah are saving more than a few – 52¢ to be exact – every time they send an electronic notice to someone enrolled in Medicaid. This is one of those win-win strategies where saving money also…