California
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Uninsured Rate for Young Children Rose More Sharply than for Older Children from 2022-2024
Key Findings The number of infants, toddlers and preschoolers who are uninsured is at the highest level in nearly a decade and is increasing more sharply than for older children. The number of uninsured children under age 6 grew by 23% between 2022 and 2024, while the number of uninsured school-aged children grew by 17%. The charts and appendix…
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CMS Weaponizes Fraud Against Medicaid in California
For the second time in the 60-year history of the Medicaid program, a CMS deferral of federal matching funds has been announced by the Vice President of the United States at a White House press conference. The first time was on February 25, when Vice President J.D. Vance told the press that CMS was delaying…
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Tracking California Implementation of H.R. 1 Medicaid Work Reporting Requirements
Medicaid Enrollment Trends The CCF Enrollment Tracker uses the most recent monthly administrative data from state websites and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). State administrative data is often the quickest way to assess what is happening in a state’s Medicaid program. California posts monthly state administrative data, including Medicaid enrollment. Timely administrative…
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The White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud: What’s at Stake for Medicaid
On March 19, President Trump issued an Executive Order Establishing the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud. The stated purpose of the Task Force, which is chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance, is to “coordinate and accelerate a comprehensive national strategy to stop fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs, including programs administered jointely with…
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Is Your State Leaving Money on the Table? How CHIP Health Service Initiatives Can Help States Support Children’s Access to Care
At a time when states are facing growing fiscal pressures and increasing strain on health systems, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Health Services Initiatives (HSIs) represent an often overlooked source of federal funding offering flexible financing to support outreach and targeted health initiatives to improve children’s health. This source of federally-matched funding becomes increasingly…
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State by State Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment Data
This tracker shows enrollment data for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in all 50 states and DC, from January 2025 to the most recent month available. Data include total Medicaid/CHIP enrollment, as well as enrollment for children, adults, and Medicaid expansion. Historical data are also included to provide additional context for state…
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Medicaid’s Role in Small Towns and Rural Areas
Key Findings Background One-fifth of people in the United States live in areas that are classified as non-urban. Residents of rural areas and small towns face additional challenges accessing needed health services compared to residents of metro areas for a variety of reasons including acute provider shortages, limited connectivity, and long distances to travel to…
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CMS Announces State Recipients of the Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Model
Last year, CMS announced a grant opportunity to boost state Medicaid agency efforts to improve maternal health in the United States. The Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Model seeks to help states develop a comprehensive approach to the perinatal period that addresses the whole person’s physical, mental health, and social needs that may be experienced during…
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How Families’ Medicaid Unwinding Experience Can Help Us Advance Health Equity
By: Kristen Golden Testa, Policy Director at The Children’s Partnership In California, more than half of children get health coverage through Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program. Medi-Cal is a critical support system for California families with low incomes, providing children access to the care they need for a healthy start in life. As nearly 75%…
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Postpartum Coverage and Benefits Key, But Merely the Start of Needed Medicaid Work to Address Maternal Health Crisis
Federal and state leaders have prioritized maternal health in Medicaid in recent years with welcome (if overdue) attention. As Say Ahhh! readers know, the new state option to extend postpartum coverage to 12 months for all pregnant women in Medicaid has been adopted or is in progress in all but two states (AR and WI)…
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A Lifeline for Families of Children With Special Health Care Needs
By Gabby Benitez, Kristen Golden Testa and Nick Lutton Nine months after the start of a national effort to renew Americans’ Medicaid coverage, a tidal wave of people, including almost 200,000 children in California from June through October last year, lost their coverage – and an untold number may be joining them. Most disturbingly, this…
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State Medicaid and CHIP Snapshots, 2023
The Georgetown University Center for Children and Families (CCF) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) created factsheets underscoring the importance of Medicaid in providing coverage for children in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Sources available here. Previous snapshots can be found here (2019), here (2018) and here (2017). Check out more interactive…
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Medicaid Managed Care: Quality Performance, Sanctions, and Transparency in California
Three years ago, the California Health Care Foundation published a ground-breaking report on Medicaid managed care in the state. Researchers from the University of California at San Francisco presented and analyzed data on the quality of care furnished by each Medicaid managed care organization (MCO) over the 10-year period 2009 – 2018. The researchers found that, over…
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Vermont’s Section 1115 Demonstration: Medicaid Managed Care Meets Single Payer
Vermont is one of ten states that don’t use risk-based Medicaid managed care. It’s not that Vermont isn’t interested in risk-based managed care. The state is very interested—so long as it is the managed care organization (MCO). The state made its case to CMS in its application to extend its section 1115 demonstration beyond June…
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California’s Medicaid Managed Care Waiver: New Potential for Access and Transparency
One of the most significant Medicaid managed care developments in 2021 happened on December 29, when CMS approved federal funding and waivers for California’s reform initiative, Advancing Innovation in Medi-Cal (CalAIM). The approval involved two sets of waivers, one operating under section 1115 of the Social Security Act, the other under section 1915(b)(4). For good…
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States Move Toward Multi-Year Continuous Eligibility for Children in Medicaid
Children need consistent access to health care, especially in their early years when frequent screenings, vaccinations, and well child checkups are so critical to their development and school readiness. And despite efforts to streamline and simplify eligibility processes and improve retention, many children covered by Medicaid (as well as other sources of health insurance) experience…
