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What Can We Expect from Biden Administration on Work Reporting Requirement Waivers?
As I was waiting to watch Vice President-elect Kamala Harris start her speech on Saturday night, I tweeted the following: Goodbye and good riddance to Medicaid work requirement waivers. — Joan Alker (@JoanAlker1) November 8, 2020 It proved to be a popular sentiment – at least on my twitter feed. As we have blogged about…
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What the Proposed “SUNSET” Regulation Means for Medicaid and CHIP
On November 4, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed to require itself to review almost every regulation it has ever issued, including those affecting Medicaid and CHIP. It did so by proposing a new regulation, which has the misleading acronym “SUNSET” (Securing Updated and Necessary Statutory Evaluations Timely). A more appropriate acronym would…
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Medicaid and CHIP Coverage for Pregnant Women: Federal Requirements, State Options
Introduction Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are key supports for pregnant women and new mothers, as well as their children in the critical early years of life. Medicaid pays for nearly half of all births in the United States, including a greater share of births in rural areas, among young women, and…
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States Can Do More to Improve Medicaid and CHIP Pregnancy and Postpartum Coverage, Advance Maternal and Child Health Equity
Each year, Medicaid pays for nearly half of all births in the United States, including a greater share of births in rural areas, among young women, and women of color. Medicaid and CHIP also cover close to half of the nation’s children under age 3, making it the largest source of coverage for infants and…
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Postpartum Depression Can Persist Well Beyond a Child’s First Birthday – Medicaid Should Adjust Accordingly
Postpartum depression can last up to three years, new research from the National Institute of Health has found, and symptoms can often emerge well after the first months following delivery and get worse over time. The findings, published in the journal Pediatrics, suggest that providers, particularly pediatricians, should screen new mothers for depression through at…
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New CMS Rule Would Weaken Families First Continuous Coverage Protection in Medicaid
On October 28, the Trump Administration announced that it would weaken the current continuous coverage protection for Medicaid beneficiaries by permitting states to cut or scale back benefits and increase cost-sharing charges. The Families First COVID-19 relief legislation provided a temporary 6.2 percentage point increase in the federal Medicaid matching rate (FMAP) through the end…
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Medicaid Managed Care Companies Report Solid Earnings While States and Pediatricians Struggle
Q3 2020 closed on September 30, and publicly held companies have reported their financial performance. These reports, known as Form 10-Qs, are designed to provide investors with some transparency about the companies in which they are investing. Here’s what they tell us about how the five companies with the largest Medicaid managed care enrollments have…
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National Strategy Needed to Close Health Care Gaps, Protect Children’s Health and Well-Being
New research from the Urban Institute, “Urgent Action Needed to Address Children’s Unmet Health Care Needs during the Pandemic,” identifies the problems families with children are facing and some proven solutions, but explains that without a coordinated, national response, it’s unlikely that the children most at risk will get needed supports. Instead, as the authors…
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Georgia’s Medicaid Waiver is Fiscally Foolish and Anti-Family
On October 15th, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma traveled to Atlanta to announce the approval of Georgia’s “Pathways to Coverage” Section 1115 Medicaid demonstration. The approval is the latest in CMS Administrator Verma’s ideological crusade to “reframe” Medicaid and promote her signature initiative — work requirements. The creation of a…
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What’s New for 2021 Marketplace Enrollment?
By Megan Houston, Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms On November 1, the eighth open enrollment period begins for marketplace coverage under the Affordable Care Act. This year there are several policy changes that could have an impact on enrollment and affordability of plans on the marketplace including: COVID-19 Pandemic: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic…
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New Urban Institute Estimates of 1.7 Million More Uninsured Children if Supreme Court Overturns Affordable Care Act
On Tuesday, November 10, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for California v. Texas, a case in which a group of conservative attorneys general led by the Texas Attorney General and the Trump Administration are seeking to overturn the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA). Researchers from the Urban Institute recently projected that the number…
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More Young Children Uninsured Since Trump Administration Took Office, Virginia a Bright Spot
As we lament the swift reversal in health coverage for children of all ages, we also wanted to take an initial look at how this trend specifically impacts young children. Sadly, children under age 6 were not spared from coverage losses. As these tables detail, there are nearly 180,000 more uninsured young children than at…
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Child Health Care Transformation: Addressing the Triple Crisis of COVID-19, Racial Injustice and the Economic Downturn
By Charles Bruner, Kay Johnson, Maxine Hayes, David Willis, Paul Dworkin, and Wendy Ellis The interrelated triple crises driven by COVID-19, racial injustice, and the economic downturn have disrupted virtually all aspects of life for children and families – with profound impact on children’s overall health and development. COVID-19 has challenged the nation’s child health…
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Press Release – New Data Finds Number of Uninsured Children Increasing at Alarming Rate
Tennessee Justice Center By: Kinika Young An estimated 80,000 Tennessee children were uninsured last year, a number that has increased about 38% since 2016, according to a new report released by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. Tennessee’s experience is part of a national trend that left an estimated 726,000 more children without health coverage…
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New Data Finds Number of Uninsured Children Increasing at Alarming Rate
NC Child By: Fawn Pattison An estimated 142,000 North Carolina children were uninsured last year, a number that has increased about 23% since 2016, according to a new report released by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. About 27,000 more North Carolina children were uninsured in 2019 than in 2016. The state’s experience is part…
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New Data Finds Number of Utah Uninsured Children Increasing at Alarming Rate
Voices for Utah Children An estimated 82,000 Utah children were uninsured last year, a number that has increased by 39 percent since 2016, according to a new report released by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. The report finds that Utah had the third largest increase in its child uninsured rate in the nation.…
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Report: Utah’s rate of uninsured kids is 6th highest in the nation
Salt Lake Tribune By: Bethany Rogers In recent years, Utah has experienced a 39% increase in the number of uninsured children and now has among the nation’s highest rates of kids without health coverage, according to a new report.About 82,000 children in the state — roughly 8.3% of the total — lacked health insurance as…
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Harris County has more uninsured kids than most – and it’s only getting worse
Houston Chronicle By: Gwendolyn Wu One in seven children in Harris County were uninsured in 2019, one of the highest rates in the country and almost triple the national average, according to a report from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. Those numbers are only expected to rise in 2020, as families lose employer-sponsored…
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Fewer Children Have Health Insurance; Report Predicts Trouble Ahead
Public News Service The number of children without health insurance was rising nationwide and here in Pennsylvania before the COVID pandemic, and a new report predicts that trend will continue. The report, from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, says after years of progress getting more kids covered by health insurance, between 2016…
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Ohio Sees a Troubling Increase in Uninsured Children
Clevescene By: Mary Kulhman Even during a time when the economy was notably strong, Ohio lost ground in ensuring children have access to health coverage. An annual report released today by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families reveals there were 27,000 more uninsured Ohio children in 2019 than in 2016.Kelly Vyzral, senior health…
