While we’re still celebrating our nation’s continued success in improving coverage for children, there’s another reason to be thankful. As news has trickled in over the past few months about states eliminating their CHIP waiting periods, CCF teamed up with MACPAC staff to take stock of where things stand. And the good news is that the current count is up to sixteen states that have or plan to eliminate their CHIP waiting periods. Several more states are likely to take up the issue in upcoming legislation sessions.
We were hopeful that HHS would eliminate waiting periods in issuing regulations related to the Affordable Care Act. After all, waiting periods make no sense in a reformed health system. Although regulations issued in July 2013 stopped short of eliminating waiting periods, CMS confirmed that doing so is a state option.
In this new super short “brief,” we explore the upcoming changes to waiting periods while posing the question of whether they remain practical and relevant. It includes a 50-state chart showing before and after 2014 waiting periods. In addition to the 16 states dropping their waiting periods, eight (8) states have taken action to lower waiting periods to no more than 90 days, as required by the new regulations. Any state maintaining a waiting period must implement the required good cause waivers and a process to track children during the waiting period.
As Elisabeth Burak wrote, all eyes turn to the remaining 20 remaining states that will continue to have waiting periods in 2014. And it’s not too late for these states to reduce their administration workload and ensure that kids have prompt access to high quality CHIP and Medicaid coverage.
