By Martha Heberlein

MACPAC (the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission) issued its first mandated report to Congress on March 15th. 

For those who may get their acronyms muddled, MACPAC was established through CHIPRA and expanded and funded through the ACA. MACPAC (like its long-running sister commission, MedPAC, (which focuses on Medicare) provides technical assistance, policy analysis, and background data on Medicaid and CHIP to Congress.

Its inaugural report provides a wealth of information for the newly initiated, as well as the long-time wonk. I’ve spent the most time with the MACstats section, which pulls together key data points in one place. In there, you can find state-specific data on enrollment, spending, eligibility, optional benefits, and cost sharing, as well as data that puts the program in a larger context (for example, looking at Medicaid within national health expenditures). Super handy and up-to-date – 2010 data already available – wow!

There are also little data gems scattered throughout the report. Take table 3-2 on page 55, which shows that almost 90% of all CHIP kids are at or below 200% of the FPL. I know I will be turning to this report constantly to help inform our work here and am certain others out there in the Say Ahhh! universe will do the same.