2019
-
The Number of Uninsured Children is on the Rise
[Editor’s Note: For the most recent report on children’s health coverage, click here.] Introduction For many years, the nation has been on a positive trajectory reducing the number and rate of uninsured children. Having health insurance is important for children as they are more likely to receive needed services, have better educational outcomes, and their…
-
Improving State Administration and Procedures to Regain Medicaid/CHIP Enrollment Momentum for Kids
See our full blog series on evidence-based policies available to policymakers to prevent more eligible children from losing health coverage. As Say Ahhh! readers know, in May, we released a comprehensive report showing that child enrollment dropped by nearly 1 million children in 38 states in 2018 and have continued to track the growing enrollment…
-
Maximizing the Use of Technology to Regain Enrollment Momentum in Medicaid
See our full blog series on evidence-based policies available to policymakers to prevent more eligible children from losing health coverage. As Say Ahhh! readers know, in May, we released a comprehensive report showing that child enrollment dropped by nearly 1 million children in 38 states in 2018 and we have continued to track the growing…
-
Here are the Facts About Anti-Immigrant Policies Pushed by the Administration and Their Impact on Children and Families
It’s hard to keep up these days on the policies pushed by this Administration that unfairly target immigrant families, but it’s important to be aware and to hold those who are in power accountable. Over the last two years, we’ve tracked harmful policies such as “zero tolerance” at the border and changes to public charge…
-
New Georgetown CHIR Report Finds Ability of Insurers, Employers to Respond to Provider Consolidation is Limited
Most employers are implementing few, if any, changes to their health plans for the 2020 plan year. That’s not surprising – employers are generally reluctant to make big or abrupt adjustments to provider networks or cost-sharing that could cause pushback from employees. But many health care experts believe that if we’re ever to truly tackle out-of-control health care…
-
The Number of Uninsured Children is on the Rise
Georgetown University Report Finds Number of Uninsured Children Now at Highest Levels Since Major Provisions of Affordable Care Act Took Effect State-by-state analysis shows alarming trend is widespread and occurred during a period of economic growth when children should be gaining health coverage Note to Editors: Detailed state information available in new interactive data hub…
-
What’s New for 2020 Marketplace Enrollment?
On November 1, the seventh open enrollment period begins for marketplace coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). We at CHIR are tracking several policy changes that could affect marketplace enrollment and plan affordability in 2020. These include: Public Charge Rule: In August 2019, the Department of Homeland Security issued a final rule that broadens the types…
-
Most Recent CMS Data Show Child Enrollment in Medicaid/CHIP Dips Again in June 2019
In June, another 62,000 children lost Medicaid or CHIP coverage, bringing the 18-month enrollment decline (between December 2017 and June 2019) to more than 1.1 million children nationwide or an overall 3 percent drop. Based on CMS or state enrollment data, 37 states have experienced declines of enrollment ranging from less than 1 percent to…
-
GAO To CMS: Set Goals, Measure Progress on EPSDT (Do Better)
Another day, another area where CMS could be spending its valuable resources to fulfill Medicaid’s mission to provide health care to low-income Americans, including and especially children. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congress’s watchdog for federal agencies, has some ideas. Regular Say Ahhh! readers know the great potential of Medicaid’s pediatric benefit, called EPSDT. Medicaid…
-
Medicaid Expansion Debate: A New Phase
Across the states, moving towards an election year typically means a retreat from policymakers wanting to take on major issues of interest to their constituents for fear of offending one side or the other. In an era of increasing “constant campaigns” rather than actual governance, this can mean even more legislative paralysis. But health care…
-
Healthy Schools Campaign Webinar Looks at Importance of Medicaid to Student Success
Think fast: What the third largest stream of federal funding flowing into public schools? Since this is Say Ahhh!, you’re probably guessing Medicaid, and you’d be right. School districts across the country receive an estimated $4.5 billion in federal Medicaid dollars every year. That’s less than 1 percent of federal Medicaid spending, but in terms…
-
New Initiative Could Undermine ACA Consumer Protections Under Guise of ‘Wellness Program’
Before the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted, one of the primary ways insurance companies deterred less healthy people from enrolling was to charge them into a higher premium based on their expected health risk. The ACA prohibited this practice beginning in 2014. Health insurers in the individual market can now adjust premium rates solely based…
-
Short-Term Funding Bill Keeps Government Open, Also Includes Sound Provision Reducing Federal and State Medicaid Drug Costs
On September 29, the President signed into law a fiscal year 2020 appropriations bill (H.R. 4378) that temporarily funds the federal government through November 21. The bill also includes several short-term extensions of critical health provisions that were scheduled to expire: full Medicaid funding for Puerto Rico and the other territories, a delay in scheduled…
-
Medicaid Managed Care Transparency: A Leap Forward
The California Health Care Foundation has just issued a path-breaking report that marks an important step forward on the road to full transparency about Medicaid managed care. The report, prepared by Dr. Andrew Bindman and his colleagues at the University of California at San Francisco, examines the performance of managed care plans (MCPs) in Medi-Cal…
-
Strategies to Address Alarming Decline in Children’s Health Coverage
In this blog series, CCF Executive Director and Research Professor Joan Alker previews her ninth annual report on children’s health coverage and examines the alarming increase in the number of uninsured children after years of bipartisan success in reducing the child uninsured rate. Research Professor Tricia Brooks — a policy expert and former state CHIP…
-
Boosting Outreach and Consumer Assistance to Regain Enrollment Momentum
See our full blog series on evidence-based policies available to policymakers to prevent more eligible children from losing health coverage. As Say Ahhh! readers know, in May, we released a comprehensive report showing that child enrollment dropped by nearly 1 million children in 38 states in 2018 and have continued to track the growing enrollment…
-
Tennessee Medicaid “Block Grant” Proposal: Imagination Gone Wild
The Tennessee Medicaid agency has posted a proposal to convert a portion of its federal funding to a “block grant.” The proposal, which responds to a directive from the Tennessee State Legislature, takes the form of an amendment to the state’s current section 1115 demonstration, which expires at the end of June 2021. The state…
-
Policy Options: How to Regain Momentum on Medicaid/CHIP Enrollment
See our full blog series on evidence-based policies available to policymakers to prevent more eligible children from losing health coverage. As Say Ahhh! readers know, we began reporting on the precipitous drop in Medicaid and CHIP enrollment earlier this year after child enrollment had declined by more than half a million kids, which has now…
-
Gaps in Coverage for Pregnant Women and New Moms Need Attention, Research Finds
Cycling in and out of health coverage is a problem no matter the stage of life, but is especially harmful for women in the time before, during and after pregnancy. According to a new blog from researchers Jamie R. Daw, Katy B. Kozhimannil and Lindsay K. Admon in Health Affairs, about 34 percent of women…
-
Research Update: Uninsured Children with Mental Health Emergencies Experience Higher Odds of Hospital Transfer
This week, I am reading a study from researchers at the University of California Davis’ Departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, which uses a national data sample from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project 2014 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) to investigate the association between types of child health coverage and hospital decisions to admit or…
