2008
-
Out of Touch: A Status Report on CMS’s August 17th Directive
By Jocelyn Guyer On August 17, 2007, CMS sent a letter, known as the August 17th directive, to state health officials sharply restricting the ability of states to cover uninsured children using SCHIP funds. New data and analyses from state officials, research organizations, and policy experts raise significant questions about the basis for and the…
-
Bush Policy “Out of Touch” with Children’s Health Care Needs
Washington — Tens of thousands of children have lost the opportunity of affordable health care coverage under a directive issued by the Bush Administration and more will do so in the months ahead, according to a report released today by Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families (CCF). The report is based on a growing…
-
CMS August 17 Directive: Lawsuits
New York Families, January 17, 2008 This lawsuit was filed on behalf of children ages 5 months to 3 1/2 years old who have been denied coverage through New York’s SCHIP program due to the CMS directive. Multi-State Lawsuit, October 4, 2007 This lawsuit was filed by New York, Illinois, Maryland and Washington against the…
-
Covering Uninsured Children: The Impact of the August 17 CHIP Directive
Author: Cindy Mann U.S. Senate Finance Committee, Subcommittee on Health Care — Testimony Document April 9, 2008
-
Implications of the August 17th Directive
By Jocelyn Guyer American Academy of Pediatrics – Presentation Document March 2008
-
Louisiana – Expansions, Simplifications and Outreach
Summary Since the late 1990’s Louisiana has made steady and substantial progress in expanding eligibility for Medicaid and LaCHIP (Louisiana’s State Children’s Health Insurance Program), and enrolling and retaining eligible children. Since LaCHIP’s implementation in November 1998, Louisiana reported an uninsured rate for low-income children of 32 percent. By 2007, the uninsured rate for this…
-
CMS August 17 Directive: Decline in Private Coverage Requirement
What the Directive Requires Under the August 17, 2007 directive, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) imposed new conditions that states must meet in order to cover children with gross family incomes above 250 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) with SCHIP funding. One of these conditions required that there is “assurance…
-
CMS 95% Coverage Rate Requirement
What the Directive Required Under the directive, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) imposed new conditions that states must meet in order to cover children with gross family incomes above 250 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) with SCHIP funds. One of these conditions required that at least 95 percent of children…
-
Children’s Coverage: Moving Forward in Uncertain Times
Author: Cindy Mann National Association for Children’s Behavioral Health – Presentation Document March 2008
-
States’ Budget Crises Will Hurt Millions
Financially strapped states are looking to take away government health insurance and benefits from millions of Americans already struggling with a souring economy. An Associated Press review of the budgets in all 50 states reveals coverage would be eliminated for hundreds of thousands of poor children, disabled and the elderly. More than 10 million people…
-
SCHIP Funding in the Year Ahead: Implications of the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act
By Jocelyn Guyer Although Congress twice passed SCHIP reauthorization bills with strong, bi-partisan support in 2007, President Bush’s decision to veto these bills ultimately led Congress to simply extend the existing SCHIP program with new funding through March 2009. This issue brief provides details on the financing provisions of the extension and state-specific data on…
-
Advancing Efficient Management and Purchasing of Prescription Drugs in Medicaid
Prescription drugs are both central to effective health care and a major driver of spending in the Medicaid program, accounting for more than $19 billion in Medicaid spending in 2006. This paper puts forward state and federal approaches to help manage prescription drugs efficiently and ensure that Medicaid gets the best possible price on prescription…
-
Cover All Kids: Pennsylvania’s State-Wide Campaign to Expand Eligibility
In 2004, in an effort to more accurately identify remaining gaps in health care coverage, the Pennsylvania Insurance Department commissioned a survey on the insurance status of citizens in the state. The Department found that while 96 percent of Pennsylvania’s children had coverage, more than 133,500 were uninsured. Of these, approximately 108,000 were eligible for…
-
Pennsylvania: Streamlined Enrollment & Renewal through Technology
Summary Pennsylvania has had important success in providing health insurance coverage: according to a 2005 state report only 8 percent of Pennsylvanians, and only 4 percent of the state’s children, are uninsured. A core component of this success has been strong public programs. About one in three children are covered by Medicaid or CHIP (its…
-
SCHIP Provisions in the Administration’s FY2009 Budget
This memo provides an analysis of SCHIP provisions in President Bush’s proposed fiscal year 2009 budget. It shows that provisions in the budget proposal would effectively eliminate state flexibility to provide SCHIP coverage for children with family incomes above 250 percent of the federal poverty level, and make it very difficult for states to cover…
-
Covering Uninsured Kids: Missed Opportunities for Moving Forward
Author: Cindy Mann U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Health – Testimony Document January 29, 2008
-
Eligibility Options for Children and Families
Cindy Mann State Health Advocates — Presentation Document January 2008