2013
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Helping Consumers Understand their New Health Insurance Options: CCIIO Releases Model Renewal Notice
By Sabrina Corlette, Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reform This week, the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) released new guidance for insurers on how to inform consumers about their new health insurance options under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The guidance also includes model language that insurers can use when communicating with their enrollees about…
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Governor Supports Medicaid Expansion – State Will Come Out Ahead on Health and Finances
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear announced on Thursday that he would accept federal funding to offer Medicaid more uninsured Kentuckians. The expansion has the potential to almost halve the number of uninsured people in the state. Governor Beshear cited research that found accepting the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid option would create 17,000 new jobs and add…
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Accepting Medicaid Funding is a Good Deal for States and Would Reduce Financial Burden for Uninsured Residents
By Tara Mancini We all know why the Medicaid expansion is a good deal for states, but it also benefits state residents who stand to become insured. In addition to the obvious benefit of providing access to affordable healthcare, it also has the potential to bring more economic stability to the newly insured. A recently…
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HHS Announces More Funding for ACA Consumer Assistance through Community Health Centers
Good news! Secretary Sebelius announced today that $150 million in new funding will be made available to community health centers to help uninsured individuals connect to expanded coverage options under the ACA. The secretary’s press release noted that “with these new funds, community health centers will be able to hire new staff, train existing staff,…
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How Many Calls Does it Take to Sign Up for CHIP in Pennsylvania?
Eighty-six phone calls! That’s how many calls it took new parents Ari Friedman and Tara Mendola of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to finally obtain Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage for their son. (And we all know new parents have nothing better to do than sit on hold!) Ari and Tara are both graduate students who were…
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Jocelyn Guyer Bids Farewell to CCF Family
By Jocelyn Guyer Dear Friends – As some of you know, I recently decided to take a position as a Director in the Washington, D.C. office of Manatt Health Solutions. In my new role, I’ll be working with states, Exchanges and other Manatt clients on implementing the ACA. As you can imagine, I’d only leave…
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Tech Tuesday – A New Blog Series Highlighting Technology and its Potential to Transform Eligibility and Enrollment
I frequently marvel at the deep Medicaid and CHIP policy expertise of so many of our state and national partners. And when someone’s knowledge doesn’t run as deep, they often make up for it in their passion for expanding health care coverage. Whether you’re a seasoned advocate or new to public health coverage, it doesn’t…
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Now About the FMAP for Those Expansion States…
By Martha Heberlein Back in early April, CMS released the final rule on FMAP claiming under the the Affordable Care Act. As covered in a previous blog by my colleague, Jocelyn Guyer, the rule describes the new threshold method that states will use to claim the appropriate matching funds for newly-eligible adults. It also provides more…
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Proposed Navigator Standards Comments Due Today
Last call for comments on the HHS proposed navigator standards released last month. Comments are due by 5:00pm ET today, May 6th. The rules outline the conflict of interest and training standards that will apply to federally-funded navigators in 34 states and in-person assisters in states with state-based or consumer partnership exchanges. In addition to…
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Florida Fails to Act on Medicaid Option
Thanks to the strong effort by so many different organizations in Florida, the state almost overcame ideological opposition to accepting federal funding for covering more uninsured Floridians through Medicaid. It is disappointing that ideology trumped pragmatism in the end as the Florida House of Representatives insisted on holding the health and well-being of Florida families…
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Oregon Study Adds to Growing Evidence of Positive Impact of Medicaid Coverage
The ongoing debate about the positive impact of Medicaid coverage has one more piece of evidence in its corner, as the second part of the Oregon Health Study was released today, finding that Medicaid “substantially improves the well-being of beneficiaries.” Back in 2008, an unprecedented opportunity arose as Oregon held a lottery for open slots in its Medicaid…
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West VA Governor Says “Yes” to Medicaid Option
West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, joined by Senator Jay Rockefeller and others, announced his decision to accept federal funding to extend Medicaid coverage to more uninsured West Virginians. The Governor directed the Bureau of Medical Services to draft a plan to submit to the federal government. In West Virginia, the Governor has the authority…
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Medicaid and Medical Support, What Does the ACA Say?
The proposed rules published on January 22, 2013 clarify that Medicaid eligibility cannot be delayed for a parent, and never denied for a child, while the parent cooperates in obtaining medical support or in establishing paternity of a child. The rule does not change the fact that cooperation is a condition of eligibility for the…
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HHS’s New Model Application – A Major Step Forward
By Jocelyn Guyer HHS released a new version of its model applications for health care coverage this morning. The new models represent a major step forward – they are much shorter, crisper and easier to fill out than the draft versions that were released in January of this year. The new model applications also are…
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CMS Offers Welcome News on Reimbursement Rates for Eligibility Activities and Related Customer Service
Beyond the fact that millions will gain more affordable coverage options in 2014, the availability of 90% federal funding for new or enhanced Medicaid eligibility systems is one of the most promising aspects of health reform. New systems offer so many advantages, and coupled with new requirements for electronic verification of eligibility, will transform the…
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CMS Clarified Enrollment Caps in Medicaid Waivers Will Not be Permitted
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued questions and answers today which, among other things, clarified that Section 1115 waiver requests that include enrollment caps or similar policies would not be approved going forward. CMS notes that such policies do not “further the objectives of the program.” Background note here, Section 1115 Secretarial…
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MACStats Now Available!
By Tara Mancini Earlier this month, the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) released the Excel-friendly version of MACStats, the state-specific information on Medicaid and CHIP programs that accompanies the Commission’s semi-annual reports to Congress. Containing many items of interest, such as: Medicaid and CHIP enrollment by state, Medicaid benefit spending by state and category,…
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Potential Costs and Challenges in Boston
By Katie Keith, Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reform With much of the country still reeling from the Boston marathon bombings, many of the victims – as well as their families and friends – have already begun the long road to recovery. With estimates that total medical costs could be as high as $9 million,…
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Florida’s Decision on Accepting Medicaid Funding Will Impact Employers
By Leah Barber-Heinz, Florida CHAIN Accepting federal funding to extend Medicaid coverage to one million uninsured, working Floridians makes good sense for Florida’s businesses. First, businesses rely on healthy workers to show up and keep their businesses going. Workers rely on affordable coverage to keep themselves and their families healthy. Accepting federal funding to connect…
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On Medicaid and ACA, Arkansas Lawmakers Choose Practical Step Forward Over Ideological Objections
All eyes— again! — have been on my home state of Arkansas this week as the General Assembly late yesterday passed the “private option,” aka the “Arkansas Plan,” or using Medicaid funds to buy exchange coverage for 250,000 uninsured Arkansans starting next year. This was no small feat, given the structural and political barriers at…