Resources
CCF has created a special collection of materials on the topics that make up the agenda at the four regional meetings, providing a wealth of information on Health Care Reform, CHIPRA, state budgets, and related topics.
Health Care Reform
- Center for Children and Families (CCF): Early Wins for Children and Families in Health Care Reform While many of the sweeping changes to insurance industry practices and other major provisions do not go into effect until January 1, 2014, there are some important early wins in health reform for children and their families. This issue brief reviews those early wins in some detail.
- CCF: Summary of Medicaid, CHIP, and Low-Income Provisions in Health Care Reform On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is designed (with its companion set of amendments in H.R. 4782) to provide coverage to 32 million people. This fact sheet describes the key Medicaid, CHIP, and low-income provisions in health care reform.
- CCF: Key Health Care Reform Dates for Children and Families This one-page chart provides a quick look at the key dates for health reform.
- CCF and Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP): Holding the Line on Medicaid and CHIP: Key Questions and Answers About Health Care Reform's Maintenance-of-Effort Requirements
Health reform requires that states maintain their current eligibility standards for Medicaid and the CHIP. This set of question and answers reviews how the MOEs are structured in the new law. - CCF: Children in Health Care Reform: Where Things Stand This fact sheet provides basic information on the coverage pathways for children and their families in the current health reform bills (HR 3962 and HR 3590) as passed by the House and Senate.
- Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF): Side-by-Side Comparison of Major Health Care Proposals This interactive side-by-side provides detailed, up-to-date summaries of leading comprehensive reform proposals focusing on several key plan components and is designed to allow for comparisons of plans across these characteristics.
- Urban Institute: How Would States be Affected by Health Reform? This paper examines various pathways through which individuals could gain coverage through the Senate and House health reform proposals.
CHIPRA
- CCF: The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 This document provides a summary of the CHIPRA legislation.
- CCF and KCMU: CHIP Tips These briefs provide details on several provisions of CHIPRA, with a focus on choices for states.
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS): Guidance The State Health Officials letter provides states with guidance and clarification on CHIPRA implementation.
- CCF: Weathering the Storm: States Move Forward on Child and Family Health Coverage Despite Tough Economic Climate This report provides a first look at state activity after the passage of CHIPRA and the availability of increased Medicaid funding in the economic stimulus package.
- CMS: One Year Later: Connecting Kids to Coverage At the one year anniversary of the enactment of CHIPRA, CMS released a report to review the progress made and to challenge the country to enroll the remaining eligible children.
- Urban Institute: Progress Enrolling Children in Medicaid/CHIP: Who is Left and What are the Prospects for Covering More Children? Looking at the characteristics of children who were eligible for Medicaid/CHIP in 2007, this paper finds that while participation rates were high, some 5 million remained uninsured despite being eligible for coverage.
- CCF: CHIP Allotments: Federal Funding Remains Secure for States Although state policymakers may face challenges raising the state share of CHIP costs that they are expected to cover due to their budget crises, states have the federal resources to sustain and strengthen their CHIP programs.
- CCF: Lessons Learned About Enrollment Freezes, Caps, and Waitlists This fact sheet provides information on the federal regulations governing caps, as well as issues to take into consideration.
- The Children's Partnership: Express Lane Toolkit This toolkit includes resources to help states realize the potential of the Express Lane Eligiblity (ELE) option.
- Connecticut Health Foundation: Estimates for the Cost of Interpreter Services
This document provides an estimate of the total costs for interpreter services within the Connecticut Medicaid program and a summary of how they were derived.
State Budgets
- CCF: Holding Steady: Medicaid Fiscal Relief and Its Implications for America's Children and Families This issue brief explores the role that Medicaid fiscal relief has played in sustaining affordable coverage options and the risk of unraveling the progress that has been made in recent years if it is not extended.
- CCF: Five Reasons Not to Add Red Tape to Your Child and Family Health Programs This fact sheet provides five reasons on why adding red tape creates administrative burdens and keeps eligible children and families from receiving necessary care.
- KCMU: Medicaid's Continuing Crunch in a Recession: A Mid-Year Update for State FY 2010 and Preview for FY 2011 This report finds that 44 states and the District of Columbia are experiencing higher than expected program enrollment and spending for fiscal year 2010.
- CBPP: Recession Continues to Batter State Budgets: State Responses Could Slow Recovery As a result of the recession, even after making very deep cuts, states continue to face large budget gaps. This paper examines the shortfalls have opened up in the budgets of at least 41 states for the current fiscal year.
- CBPP: State Tax Changes in Response to the Recession In order to deal with budget deficits, most states have opted for a balanced approach that includes new revenue. This report analyzes tax changes enacted in 2008 and 2009.
- CBPP: An Update on State Budget Cuts This report examines the vast majority of states have made spending cuts that hurt families and reduce necessary services as a result of the recession.
- CMS: State Medicaid Director Letter, March 5, 2010 This letter provides information on the increased Federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) in ARRA applying to states' "clawback" payments.
Policy Options
- Impact of Health Reform
- Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families: Health Reform Summary: Key Elements Affecting Arkansas Children and Families
- Raising Revenue
- Vote Yes for Oregon: Protect Our Schools, and Senior and Children's Services
- Family Stories
- Texas Children's Defense Fund: In Harm's Way
- Children's Alliance: Apple Health for Kids: A Lifeline for Washington Families
- Coalitions
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF): CKF Coalitions Propel Policy and Procedural Change
- Outreach
- InsureKidsNow.gov: Children's Health Insurance Toolkit
- National Immigration Law Center (NILC): Immigrant-Friendly Health Coverage Outreach and Enrollment
- National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP): Maximizing Kids' Enrollment in Medicaid and SCHIP
- Covering Kids and Families (CKF): Promising Practices from the Nation's Single Largest Effort to Insure Eligible Children and Adults Through Public Health
- Child Health Summit
- Kansas Action for Children (KAC): Children's Health Coverage Summit Invitation
- KAC: Children's Health Coverage in Kansas: Recommendations for Improving Access to HealthWave
- Reducing Paperwork
- CCF: Program Design Snapshot: Paperless Income Verification
- CMS: Continuing the Progress
- Process Improvement