2010
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CHIPRA Performance Bonuses for Medicaid
Author: Tricia Brooks National Covering Kids and Families Network Webinar – Presentation Document February 22, 2010
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President Obama Releases Roadmap to Health Care Reform
Just as Washington is finally thawing out from under all the snow, it seems that health reform was dug out too with the release today of President Obama’s health reform proposal. The President’s plan sets the stage for the bipartisan health reform summit that the White House is convening on Thursday. In an effort to…
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More Families Seeking Health Coverage Than Ever Before: Medicaid Enrollment up by 3.3 Million (60 Percent Children)
In this often-called “unprecedented” economic recession, it is easy to become jaded by the dire statistics thrown our way. This week however, the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU), gave us a positive number to consider: over the last year, 3.3 million more uninsured people (2 million who were children) were able to rely…
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Backlogs Put Children’s Health Coverage at Risk
By Gary Brunk President & CEO, Kansas Action for Children “I just couldn’t believe the state would cut personnel on a program that’s for kids,” commented Harold Stultz to a reporter from the CBS affiliate in Wichita, Kansas. According to a local television news report, Harold’s 12-year-old son Keenan had injured his knee during a…
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Express Lane Eligibility: Time to Put On Our Thinking Caps
Express Lane Eligibility (ELE) is a relatively simple concept. There are millions of uninsured children eligible for Medicaid and enrolled in other public programs, like school lunch or food stamps. Since they serve the same populations and families have already submitted relevant information, we can create connections between the programs in order help more children…
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Tennessee Governor Bredesen to Re-Open CoverKids
Today, there’s a new beat coming out of Nashville, Tennessee (aka Music City, USA). Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen has changed his tune and announced that on March 1 enrollment will resume for CoverKids, the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The Governor had frozen enrollment in November but, after a loud public outcry, he decided to…
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Postcards from CCF – Wisconsin (ICHIA)
Our search for interesting state innovations brings us once again to Wisconsin. The last time we sent you a postcard from Wisconsin, we highlighted its successful ACCESS program that allows people to apply online, check the status of their benefits, and report any changes. In this case, the state has moved forward to take advantage…
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Outreach Brings Access to Health Coverage and Peace of Mind
Donna Cohen Ross Outreach Director, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities One year ago last Thursday, President Obama signed the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) into law. The President’s words that day reinvigorated a nationwide effort to ensure that children have the health coverage they need. We have made significant strides since then,…
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Express Lane Eligibility: New Options Under CHIPRA
The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) provides states with new tools and flexibility for implementing Express Lane Eligibility. In general, state Medicaid and CHIP agencies can partner with other public programs, such as school lunch, food stamps, or WIC, to conduct outreach and enrollment activities. A state may also obtain and…
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CHIPRA Helping Families Get Through Tough Times
Statement by Jocelyn Guyer Co-Director Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families (Washington, D.C.) – As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA), it’s a good time to reflect on how this initiative has helped families get through tough times. In the past year, while private insurance became…
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CHIPRA is One Year Old Today
By Jocelyn Guyer In many cultures, the first birthday of a child is a major community celebration. It signifies that the baby has made it through the critical first year and is now destined for great things. We should be celebrating the first year of the Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA). CHIPRA renewed the Children’s Health…
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Health Care in the President’s Budget: Extension of ARRA FMAP Increase
While there hasn’t been much good news coming out of Washington lately on the health care front, the President’s newly released FY 2011 budget offers some positive developments. Most notably, the budget proposes $25.5 billion to extend the temporary FMAP increase for another six months, through June 2011. The FMAP increase and its accompanying maintenance…
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Understanding the New Quality Initiatives in CHIPRA
In addition to extending the CHIP program, the CHIP reauthorization bill signed into law on February 4, 2009, includes a number of important program and financing changes affecting Medicaid as well as CHIP. Among these are a set of quality provisions that aim to help develop child-specific quality measures and improve the quality of care…
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New Mom Sees Some Signs of Hope for Health Coverage
“…let’s talk about honoring our most important responsibility as Iowans. That is, our duty as parents, and as shepherds of our children’s future. You know, I’m proud of the fact, that working together, we’ve made a long-term investment in the health and education of “all” children… Together, we must continue this investment, and my budget…
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My Top Three Reasons Why We Should Still Do Health Reform
Most of us were glued to the TV set last night waiting to see what President Obama was going to say about the future of the health care reform bill given its now uncertain fate in Congress. As I settled in to watch with my husband and one of my girls (the other one sadly…
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Health Coverage can be as Precarious as Children’s Health
The image of sweet little Sarah McIntyre immediately came to mind as I read the Pediatrics Journal’s study that showed that children with special health care needs were 57% less likely to be uninsured in 2005 than those in 2001. The Pediatrics report is great news but it should be taken with a dose of caution. …
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Op-ed: Colorado Kids Can’t Wait; The Opportunity Is Now
When we provide health coverage for kids, we give them the opportunity to grow into healthy adults who live, work and thrive in every Colorado community. But — did you know that… Colorado has the fastest growth rate of kids living in poverty in the nation, with an 85 percent increase over the last nine…
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What’s at Stake for Kids and Families if Health Reform Fails?
By Jocelyn Guyer Like everyone else in D.C. health policy circles, I’ve spent much of the last few days obsessively checking for updates on whether there is a coherent plan emerging from the White House and Congress for moving forward on health reform. Not yet, which means that instead of rolling up my sleeves and…
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Children and Families Still Need Coverage Despite the Latest Roadblock for Health Reform
The election of Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate changes many things, but it doesn’t change one simple fact: children and families still need better access to quality, affordable health coverage. While figuring a way out of this sticky situation is above my pay grade, there are a lot of savvy legislative strategists working on…
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Medicaid and State Budgets: A Look at the Facts
By Martha Heberlein There has been much discussion about states’ ability (and willingness) to help finance health reform, especially as it concerns an expansion of Medicaid. A little background data may help to illuminate the debate. While significant, Medicaid’s role in state budgets is far more modest than the headlines often suggest. Medicaid constitutes 16.2%…