Statement by Tricia Brooks, Assistant Research Professor, Georgetown Health Policy Institute Center for Children and Families on August 12, 2011:

“The Administration today released a set of Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) relating to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, including new regulations for streamlining eligibility and coordinating enrollment in Medicaid and the Exchange. We applaud CMS for accelerating the best practices in the states to ensure families across the country can access affordable coverage. Many of those best practices were generated from the popular and successful efforts to get children access to affordable coverage through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.”

“The regulations focus on bringing Medicaid more fully into the modernized practices that most Americans experience everyday—such as going paperless. Many states have already implemented these more efficient processes and systems and it makes good sense. We simply cannot afford to be using antiquated systems that rely on excessive paperwork and are labor intensive when our resources are limited. These more efficient practices will help to further ensure children can see a doctor when they get sick or have a serious medical condition, seniors can get access to long-term care, and children and adults living with disabilities have the support they need to thrive.”

The regulations are available in full on the HHS web site:
http://www.ofr.gov/inspection.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

Overview:
www.HealthCare.gov/news/factsheets/exchanges08122011a.html

Easy, Simple Access to Coverage for Consumers and Small Businesses:
www.HealthCare.gov/news/factsheets/exchanges08122011b.html

Health Insurance Premium Tax Credit:
www.treasury.gov/press-center/Documents/36BFactSheet.PDF

Medicaid Eligibility:
www.HealthCare.gov/news/factsheets/exchanges08122011c.html

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