2013
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All Eyes on States – Time to Say Goodbye to CHIP Waiting Periods
As states are rushing to get their enrollment and eligibility systems in top form going into 2014, HHS just handed them one more critical decision to make: getting rid of outdated CHIP waiting periods. Say Ahhh! readers know that eliminating CHIP waiting periods— or the period of time that a child must remain uninsured before…
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Our Initial Take on Today’s Final Medicaid, CHIP, Exchange Rule
I’m holding the fort down at CCF while most of my colleagues get a few well-deserved days off. But unfortunately that means I drew the short straw for a first look at final Medicaid and Exchange regulations released on this hot, humid day wedged between a national holiday and what could be a long weekend.…
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See How Your State Measures Up on Child Well-being: New Kids Count Data Is Available
By Tara Mancini Last week, the Annie E. Casey released the 24th edition of its Kids Count data book, a go-to source for trends on child well-being. This year’s analysis of national trends compares data from before and after the recession to see how children fare in its aftermath, and the results paint a mixed picture. Since…
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Tech Tuesday: Technology Will Deliver Most Navigator and Assister Training
As the federal government and states work toward developing training for navigators and assisters, it is likely that much of it will be web-based. Using technology to deliver training is certainly cost-effective. It enables navigator entities to get new staff trained without waiting for the next scheduled training, and allows states to making training easily…
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Connecting Kids to Coverage Grants Announced
The third round of Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment Grants were announced today. A total of $32 million was awarded in 22 states to 41 grantees, which include state and local governments, tribal organizations, community groups, schools, health care providers and other organizations. Grants were targeted in the states with the largest numbers of…
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State-Specific Supplemental Navigator and Assister Training
The following outline focuses on Medicaid and CHIP policy information and training topics for which content differs from state to state, and may not be covered in-depth in federal training for navigators and other assisters.
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Navigator Assister Training Outline
This comprehensive outline for navigators and other types of assisters was developed to inform the scope of training that is being developed at both the federal and state level to prepare navigators and other assisters to connect consumers to existing and expanded coverage options un the Affordable Care Act.
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Arming Navigators with the Right Information to Help Enroll People in Coverage
With the fast approach to open enrollment for the new Health Insurance Marketplaces starting October 1st, there is growing interest in the Navigators and other assisters who will help people learn about their coverage options and get enrolled. Navigators will have to be able to provide information on private health insurance, both for individuals and small businesses,…
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Advocate Offers Creative Idea for Distinguishing Between “Good” and “Bad” Federal Dollars
By Jon Peacock, Wisconsin Council on Children and Families In Wisconsin and a number of other states, concerns have been raised about taking tainted ObamaCare dollars for the expansion of Medicaid. With that concern in mind, lawmakers here approved a health care plan that rejects those Medicaid dollars and will cost Wisconsin taxpayers almost $150…
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Tech Tuesday: CMS Option Provides States with a Powerful Outreach Tool
By Shelby Gonzales, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Connecting families to health coverage and other benefits requires comprehensive and strategic outreach. Getting people to sign up is hard work, and it often takes time to make measurable gains in enrollment. One strategy has been extremely effective in enrolling eligible children. Using information available from…
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CMS Releases Guidance on Alternative Application
By Martha Heberlein The ACA requires states to use a single, streamlined application to determine eligibility for all health insurance affordability programs. Back in April, CMS released the model application that they will use in the federally-facilitated marketplaces (FFM). States can either adopt this for their own use or can use an alternative application that…
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100 Days to “Launch”: What a Formerly Controversial Health Program Can Teach Us
By Sabrina Corlette, Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms People, stop wringing your hands and roll up your sleeves. On Sunday, we’ll be just 100 days from the first day of open enrollment in new, high quality and affordable health insurance coverage options. As we barrel towards the finish line, pundits and policymakers have been quick…
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The June MACPAC Report is Hot Off the Press
By Tara Mancini In case you missed it amongst all the noise generated by security leaks, the Supreme Court’s ban on patenting human genes, and Chris Christie slow-jamming the news on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, last week MACPAC released the June edition of its biannual report. Chapters 1-3 cover maternity services, the Medicaid primary…
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Translating MAGI to Current Monthly Income Will Be Particularly Important for Kids in Medicaid and CHIP
It’s helpful for all Medicaid and CHIP stakeholders to generally understand that starting in January 2014 there will be new ways to count income and household size to determine Medicaid eligibility based on the new ACA rules. While not everyone needs to dive into these policy weeds, there are a number of reasons it’s important…
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Welcome to New(ish) Faces at CCF
As I prepare to leave on a family vacation, I wanted to welcome publicly the newest member of CCF’s team Sonya Schwartz. Sonya is probably known to many of you from her work for the past eight years at the National Academy of State Health Policy where she most recently directed the State Refor(u)m project.…
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Tech Tuesday: Survey of State CIOs Provides Insight on State Medicaid Eligibility and Enrollment Systems
This weekend, the final 100-day countdown to open enrollment begins. Will state Medicaid eligibility and enrollment systems be ready? Results from a recent survey published by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) indicate that 72% of the 26 states and/or territories that responded…
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Figuring Out Premium Tax Credits
By Joe Touschner [For more up-to-date information on figuring out premium tax credits, visit Consumer Reports health tax credit tool or state specific brochures. Kaiser Family Foundation has also updated its subsidy calculator.] Insurers have been filing small group and non-group rates in several states recently, leading to claims and counter-claims about whether the ACA…
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Twenty-two Cities Selected for Leadership Academies on Expanding Care for Children and Families
By Wesley Prater Earlier this week, the National League of Cities (NLC) announced the selection of 22 cities to participate in two leadership academies focused on expanding access to care for children and families through the development of citywide outreach and campaigns. Through funding from The Atlantic Philanthropies, NLC will host the leadership academies as…
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Florida’s Medicaid Managed Care Waiver Receives Final Approval: Some Strong Consumer Protections Included, Oversight Will Be Critical
So it may seem like this already happened but today CMS issued the final documents approving Florida’s request to move almost its entire Medicaid program into managed care. The state needed demonstration waiver approval for some (e.g. children on SSI, in foster care, dual-eligibles, etc) but not all of the populations it is seeking to move into…
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New Study Findings on Mixed-Status Immigrant Families: Threat of Family Separation Affects Health of the Children
By Dinah Wiley With the focus in the Nation’s Capitol on immigration reform, concerns abound about border security and about the fate of the 11.1 million undocumented immigrants residing in the U.S. But the current debates have focused little on the 4.5 million citizen children of undocumented parents who will also be greatly affected by…