What's Happening
January 2011
(1/28/11)
CHIPRA Helps States Meet Communication’s Needs of Patients
Congress and the Administration recognized the need for improved language services and included a provision in CHIPRA
to increase funding to help states address those needs. Mara Youdelman
of the National Health Law Program offers her insights on the CMS
guidance to states to implement section 201(b) of CHIPRA. • Blog: CHIPRA Provides More Funds to Help States Pay for Language Services
(1/27/11)
Groups Voice Strong Support for Upgrading Medicaid Systems
More than 200 organizations joined together to submit comments
to CMS in support of a proposed rule that would provide 90% matching
funding for state Medicaid eligibility and enrollment system upgrades.
“The proposed rule will help state governments work better and more efficiently to meet the needs of
residents,” wrote CCF’s Jocelyn Guyer on Say Ahhh!• Blog: Groups Support Rule to Upgrade Medicaid Enrollment Systems
(1/25/11)
States Should Use Good Judgment When Exercising Flexibility
The stability provisions
requiring states to hold steady in their coverage levels and enrollment
and renewal procedures in Medicaid and CHIP will continue past the
expiration of ARRA thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
However, states still have broad flexibility over key areas of their
Medicaid programs. When using this flexibility, states can make some
good or bad choices according to CCF’s Tricia Brooks. • Blog: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Filling Budget Gaps in Medicaid
(1/24/11)
CHIPRA to Celebrate Anniversary Feb. 4
In honor of the upcoming Children's Health Insurance Program
Reauthorization Act anniversary on Feb. 4, Say Ahhh! is highlighting
how CHIPRA has helped connect children with coverage since President
Obama signed it into law two years ago. This week, Elizabeth Wood,
formerly with the New Jersey Office of the Child Advocate, shares an
innovative strategy she initiated to reach out to eligible children and
families.• Blog: CHIPRA Anniversary Approaching: Let's Celebrate Successful Outreach
(1/21/11)
HHS Announces Grants to Help States Build Exchanges
HHS announced that states can now apply for grants to "establish" their
Health Insurance Exchanges under the Affordable Care Act. • Blog: HHS Announces Funding Opportunity to Help States Build Exchanges
(1/11/11)
Holding Steady, Looking Ahead
Over the past year, as the nation’s attention was focused on the
country’s economic problems and the debate over the passage of broader
health care reform, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance
Program (CHIP) continued to play their vital role of providing coverage
to millions of people who otherwise lack affordable coverage options.
Families could turn to this coverage, because nearly all states "held
steady" in 2010, as found in the annual survey conducted by CCF and the
Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.• Holding Steady, Looking Ahead: Annual Findings of a 50-State Survey of Eligibility Rules, Enrollment and Renewal Procedures, and Cost Sharing Practices in Medicaid and CHIP, 2010-2011
• Blog: Holding Steady, Looking Ahead
(1/7/11)
States Need to Maintain Medicaid Coverage
States need to find a balanced way to get through the
remaining budget downturn that doesn't involve cutting off coverage for
low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities.
• Blog: States Should Seek a Balanced Approach to Maintaining Medicaid
(1/6/11)
True Costs of Repeal by State
Healthcare.gov offers data on both a national
and a state-by-state basis of the cost of repeal. It provides a useful sense of the number of Americans
who would be negatively impacted by repeal.• Blog: Healthcare.gov Posts State-by-State Cost of Health Reform Repeal
(1/4/11)
CMS Awards Performance Bonuses to States
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
awarded 15 states for their successful efforts to improve enrollment of
uninsured children in Medicaid. The states receiving an award for the
first time were Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, Ohio and Wisconsin. They
join ten others that received the award for two years running -
Alabama, Alaska, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New
Mexico, Oregon and Washington. • Blog: CMS Spreads Holiday Cheer to States Doing An Outstanding Job of Improving Enrollment of Uninsured Children in Medicaid
• Blog: Medicaid Performance Bonuses Awarded
• Blog: Ringing in 2011 by Celebrating Progress in Children's Coverage
(1/3/11)
NEACH Shares Successful Strategies
A new report by the New England Alliance for Children Health (NEACH) tells an impressive advocacy success story. It draws practical ideas from the advocates who made it happen, serving as a guide to advocacy strategies that work, writes Eugene Lewit of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation on Say Ahhh!.• Blog: New England Advocates Share Successful Strategies for Growing Children's Coverage
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