2017
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Congress Has 2 weeks to Fund a Program that Covers 9 Million Children
Vox By: Dylan Scott We’ve been talking a lot about two big deadlines for health care this month: -September 27, the last day for insurers to sign their contracts to sell Obamacare plans in 2018 and the self-imposed deadline for any bipartisan stabilization bill in the Senate -September 30, the day the special “budget reconciliation”…
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Positive Development for CHIP Emerges from Senate Finance Committee Leaders
Yesterday I blogged about the urgent need for Congress to take bipartisan action to extend CHIP funding before it expires on September 30. The Senate only has 10 legislative days left before the deadline, and the House only has five! Yikes! Almost nine million children have their coverage provided for or funded at least in part…
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States Could Lose Cost-Effective Express Lane Eligibility if Congress Fails to extend CHIP Promptly
When CHIP was reauthorized in 2009, it provided a new tool – known as Express Lane Eligibility (ELE) – for states to enroll and renew children’s coverage. ELE allows states the flexibility to use findings from other public programs, like SNAP, to determine eligibility for Medicaid or CHIP. ELE can be used at enrollment, renewal,…
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Where Medicaid Cuts Could Hurt the Most
Ozy By Nick Fouriezos This summer, the U.S. Senate came one vote shy of passing a Republican health care bill that would have shaved billions from Medicaid — it had the imprimatur of President Trump, who campaigned promising not to cut such programs. If passed, mothers like Mora County treasurer JoJo Olivas say they probably…
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Johnson Joins Republicans In Effort To Repeal ACA
Wisconsin Public Radio By: Shamane Mills Four Republican U.S. senators unveiled a bill Wednesday they say could be the last chance to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Dean Heller of Nevada, and Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, want to replace federal money now being spent…
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State’s Uninsured Dropped 42% Under ACA
Urban Milwaukee By: John Peacock The number of Wisconsinites who do not have health insurance fell sharply during the first three years of implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to new survey data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Approximately 218,000 fewer Wisconsin residents were uninsured last year than in 2013, a…
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Congress Must Extend CHIP to Ensure Health Care for Kids
Des Moines Register By: Anne Discher As Gov. Kim Reynolds decides this month whether to call a special session to address Iowa’s budget deficit, our state’s Congressional delegation is back in Washington deciding whether to continue funding state programs that provide health coverage to kids. Congress’ failure to act would make Iowa lawmakers’ job balancing…
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ARKids B Funding up in the Air at the Federal Level
ABC7 News By: Talk Business and Politics Roughly 120,000 kids in Arkansas could be dropped from the ARKids First health insurance rolls unless Congress extends $195 million in federal funding that supports the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) by the Sept. 30 expiration, according to Laura Kellams, director for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.…
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Why CHIP Beats the Marketplace When it Comes to Kids
Over the past few decades, policymakers have made a commitment to insuring children, as evidenced by Medicaid coverage expansions in the 1980s, the creation of CHIP in 1997, and most recently, the Affordable Care Act (ACA). But not all of these coverage sources are created equal. Medicaid, the MVP for children’s coverage, offers children an…
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Marketplace Coverage is Not an Adequate Substitute for CHIP
With the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) set to expire on September 30, some political leaders and policymakers have asked whether the nearly 9 million, low-income children on CHIP could just as easily be covered on Marketplace plans. Our analysis shows that Marketplace plans would cost families more, provide fewer benefits and offer less stability…
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Will Congress Convert Bipartisan Support for CHIP into Action for Kids?
Last week I attended and spoke at a wonderful child health symposium at West Virginia University’s John D. Rockefeller IV School of Policy and Politics. Senator Rockefeller was there sharing his inspiration and wisdom and emphasizing the bipartisan spirit in which the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) was born 20 years ago. Today, thanks to…
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U.S. Continues Progress in Children’s Health: Over 95% of U.S. Children Have Health Insurance
Today the Census Bureau partially released the 2016 American Community Survey (ACS) health insurance data. According to the data, the insured rate among children under age 19 is now at an all-time high of 95.3 percent. This continues the upward trend of the children’s insured rate since 2008. Overall, 2016 shows promising developments for children’s…
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States Take the Lead with Policies to Protect Residents with Chronic Conditions from High Out-of-Pocket Drug Costs
This blog post originally appeared on the Center on Health Insurance Reforms blog. While there were many campaign promises to lower prescription drug costs, to date there’s been little federal action to reduce prescription drug prices or lower patients’ costs. States, however, are taking the lead with policies designed to protect consumers from the high…
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State Group Warns Health Care at Risk for 121,000 Youths
Arkansas Online By: Dan Holtmeyer Congress must quickly reauthorize a federal program that covers health care costs for tens of thousands of Arkansas children, advocates said Monday. … “We don’t want to gamble with this in any way,” said Laura Kellams, the group’s Northwest Arkansas director. The group encourages policies that promote children’s welfare in…
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Fewer Texans Were Uninsured in 2016, but State Still has Largest Health Coverage Gap
The Texas Tribune By: Alex Arriaga More Texans are insured now than four years ago — but the state is still home to 4.5 million people without health coverage, the largest share in the country. A new United States Census Bureau report shows the percentage of uninsured Texans dropped from 22.1 percent in 2013 to…
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LIP Penny vs. Medicaid dollars
Herald Tribune By: Joe Pennisi There’s good news and bad news for Florida in the federal government’s recent decision to approve more dollars for Florida’s uncompensated care pool, known as the Low Income Pool or LIP. Gov. Rick Scott is to be commended for utilizing his relationship with the administration in Washington to bring this…
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Incomes Rose While the Poverty and Uninsured Rates Declined Last Year
San Antonio Express-News By Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje For the second year in a row, household incomes rose across the nation, while the poverty and uninsured rates continued to decline, according to new data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. … “We’re really pleased to see that in 2016, the ACA continued to boost health…
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Medicaid: The Port in a Storm for Children and Families
As Harvey and Irma remind us, natural disasters happen. And when they do, they threaten the health of children and families and the ability of providers to deliver needed services. It takes time for displaced families, providers, and communities to get back on their feet. It also takes resources. While federal Medicaid funds are always…
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As Congress Debates Health Care, Study Finds Relationship Between Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance
Kaiser Health News By: Shefali Luthra Efforts by Republican lawmakers to scale back Medicaid enrollment could undercut an aspect of the program that has widespread bipartisan appeal — covering more children, research published Tuesday in the journal Health Affairs suggests. The study focuses on the impact of Medicaid’s “welcome-mat” effect — a term used to…
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Hurricanes to Cause Greater Need for Children’s Health Program
National Journal By: Erin Durkin States facing cleanup in the aftermath of the recent hurricanes could see a surge in need for a health insurance program that provides coverage to low- and middle-income kids. The problem: Funding for the program expires at the end of the month, and Congress still has to make major decisions…
