2011
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An Honest Look at State Budgets After ARRA Expires
By Tara Mancini Yesterday, three timely releases from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured show that state budgets are beginning to turn around. The 11th annual 50-state survey of Medicaid budgets, coupled with an updated brief on state budgets in recession and recovery, and another on Medicaid provisions in ARRA (the stimulus bill)…
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How Would Michele Bachmann Replace Obamacare?
An uninsured mother with a son who relies on Medicaid for health care coverage asked Presidential Candidate Michele Bachmann the following question at a town hall meeting in Winterset, Iowa: “I want to hear more from you than your statement that on the day that you are elected you are going to end Obamacare, I…
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If Only There Were Cliff Notes on Proposed ACA Regs
As the October 31st deadline looms for groups that want to comment on the three proposed rules relating to the eligibility and enrollment of individuals into health coverage under the Affordable Care Act, many groups may wish “Cliff Notes” were available to help them sort through all the issues and the potential impact on children…
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National Groups Oppose CA Request to Circumvent Cost-Sharing Protections
Cost-sharing in the private insurance model was intended to encourage consumers to use services prudently, however, the application of increased cost-sharing for those enrolled in Medicaid often simply forces low-income individuals to go without medically necessary care. For that reason, federal legal protections were put in place to protect low-income people from being overburdened with…
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Major Implications for Children and Families of the Proposed Affordable Care Act Rules on Eligibility and Enrollment Systems
On August 17, 2011, the Obama Administration published three proposed rules in the Federal Register relating to the eligibility and enrollment of individuals into health coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Taken together, they offer a comprehensive blueprint of how the Administration is proposing to implement the provisions of the ACA aimed at ensuring…
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Waiver Watchers Alert: CMS decision protects AZ parents’ coverage; Budget cuts do not a waiver make
Another installment in the ongoing saga regarding Arizona’s efforts to rollback coverage for parents and childless adults occurred on October 7th when CMS sent the state a letter reviewing where things stand with the state’s Section 1115 waiver request. In January, Arizona became the first state in the nation to request a waiver of the…
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Clock is Ticking for Super Committee
Today marks the deadline for Congressional standing committees to submit recommendations for spending cuts or revenue increases to the Super Committee (officially known as the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction). The clock is ticking as the Super Committee races (often behind closed doors) to meet its November 23rd deadline to report out a bill…
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Divide & Conquer: NC Speaker of House Tries to Pit Medicaid Beneficiaries Against One Another
By Adam Searing, North Carolina Justice Center Usually the North Carolina Speaker of the House, Thom Tillis, presents himself as a moderate, business-friendly Republican. Even as his party has enacted the largest cuts in the history of NC’s Medicaid program, he’s managed to keep the focus at local meetings around the state where he has…
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Farewell to Lisa – an Incredible Advocate and Colleague
Yesterday Jocelyn Guyer and I attended the funeral of one of our national colleagues, Lisa Codispoti, from the National Women’s Law Center. Lisa was an incredibly dedicated, smart and funny advocate who worked for many years at SEIU prior to joining NWLC’s staff – always fighting tirelessly for health coverage. As you will see from…
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IOM Report Starts Process of Defining Essential Health Benefits
By Joe Touschner The Affordable Care Act will bring health coverage within reach for millions of uninsured people. The law, though, doesn’t answer the question of exactly what that coverage will look like–that is, what benefits it will cover. The law charges the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to define an…
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Health Exchanges: Federal, State, or a Partnership?
(This blog originally appeared in the Health Policy Hub.) By Christine Barber, Community Catalyst Federal or state Exchange? The question of who should run the marketplace for individuals and small businesses to shop for and buy affordable, high quality insurance has been an ongoing debate in health reform circles for a number of years. And a main…
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Together, Let’s #PutKids1st
By: O. Marion Burton, MD, FAAP, President, American Academy of Pediatrics The Budget Control Act of 2011 (Public Law 112-25), passed by Congress in August to raise the national $14.3 debt ceiling through 2012, called for the establishment of a 12-member, bipartisan Congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (JSC) to address the country’s long-term…
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How Has Arizona’s CHIP Enrollment Freeze Impacted Kids?
The state of Arizona was hit especially hard by the recession and responded by imposing the largest spending cuts in the state’s history. Among these was a freeze in KidsCare, the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Arizona remains the only state with an enrollment freeze in place and a new report we just released…
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Exchange I Reg Deadline Extended to October 31
Have you been frantically putting the finishing touches on your comments to the Exchange I regulations to meet tomorrow’s deadline? Or did you decide to forego submitting comments due to the quick turnaround time initially established by CMS? Either way, we have good news for you – your deadline has just been extended to October 31! To…
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Kaiser Survey Finds Health Insurance Premiums Continue to Increase
As has happened every year in recent memory, annual premiums for employer-sponsored family health care coverage increased according to the annual Kaiser Family Foundation’s 2011 Employer Health Benefits Survey released today. This year, annual premiums hit an average of $15,073 – an increase of 9 percent over last year. On average, workers pay $4,129 and…
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Let’s Make “SHOP” Work Well for Small Businesses and Families
By Dinah Wiley, CCF Consultant Small business owners and entrepreneurs will have better access to affordable health care plans for themselves and their employees once the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) provision of the Affordable Care Act is up and running. This is a great innovation for small businesses as they can pool with…
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Hard Work Pays Off for “Waiver Watchers”
By Wesley Prater A number of states looking to save money in their Medicaid programs are asking the federal government for Section 1115 Research and Demonstration waivers — in some cases asking for federal protection that preserve their coverage for children and families to be loosened. However, recently three states – New Jersey, Texas, and…
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We Owe our Children More than a Fiscally Sound Nation
By Bruce Lesley, First Focus As the 12 members of the Congressional Super Committee begin their work, it’s important to remember that in this country, we don’t kick people when they’re down, particularly children. Millions of American children face the daily possibility that they won’t have enough food to eat or the supplies needed for…
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State Level Data Now Available on a Census Website Near You
By Tara Mancini Say Ahhh! readers will recall that just last week the Census Bureau released the 2010 estimates for the Current Population Survey (CPS). As the official source for poverty statistics in the United States, the 2010 CPS detailed the drastic rise of poverty and the continued decline of median household income. While the CPS…
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High Uninsurance Rate Impacts Access & Quality of Care in Community
We all intuitively know communities are better off when residents have access to health care coverage and a new report sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation provides us with even more data to back up that point. The report found that a high rate of uninsurance in a community has a spillover effect for…