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Medicaid Expansion Will Benefit Missouri Kids
Next week, on August 4th, voters in Missouri will have a chance to weigh in on Medicaid expansion — becoming the 6th state to do so. Oklahoma voters just passed a similar expansion measure on June 30 of this year, leaving only 13 states left still refusing federal Medicaid funding to extend affordable health coverage…
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Snapshot of Children with Medicaid by Race and Ethnicity
Introduction Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are primary sources of health coverage for low-income children, especially for children of color because they are more likely to be economically disadvantaged. As such, these sources of health insurance offer an opportunity to assess and address existing health disparities. In this analysis, we use the…
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Medicaid and CHIP Provide Health Coverage to More than Half of Children of Color
With the heightened awareness of racial inequality in the news, we wanted to refresh our research showing the importance of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to children of color. More than half of American Indian or Native Alaskan, Black, other or multi-racial, and Hispanic children rely on Medicaid and CHIP as their…
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Redirecting Medicaid MCO Gains to Offset Network Provider Losses in the Time of COVID-19
2020 Q2 marked the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic, stay-at-home orders, school closures, social distancing, and a recession. Families put off going to the doctor’s office for routine, non-emergency care. Primary care physician practices and clinics that bill for each visit saw sharp drops in their revenues as patients stayed at home (pediatricians’ offices were…
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Coalition Calls on Secretary Azar to Use Medicaid Waiver Authority to Promote Health Equity
In light of the heightened national attention to the injustice of structural racism, a lengthy list of diverse national and state groups representing patients, providers, racial justice organizations and others sent a letter to Secretary Azar urging him to take two immediate steps with respect to pending Section 1115 Medicaid demonstration requests that would help…
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Congress Should Provide Additional Medicaid Funding and Also Block Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule
Despite the House passing the HEROES Act (H.R. 6800) in May, the Senate has not considered further major legislation to respond to the worsening COVID-19 health and economic crisis. But it is expected that Congress will finally act over the next two weeks. As I have explained, an additional, substantial increase in the federal Medicaid…
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For Rural Hospitals, Medicaid Expansion Acts As Shot In The Arm
KOSU By: Seth Bodine Eight rural hospitals in Oklahoma have closed in the last decade, the third highest rate of rural hospital closures in the country. But, the recent vote to expand Medicaid could provide rural hospitals with a much needed financial boost… Joan Alker, a research professor at Georgetown University who studies healthcare policy,…
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Nevada Senator joins conversation about disparities in Latino communities during pandemic
This Is Reno By: Bianca Wright On July 16, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, representatives from UnidosUS—the United States’s largest Latino non-profit advocacy organization—and Congressman Joaquin Castro gathered on a conference call to discuss the latest report from UnidosUS, a document that describes how Latino people in the U.S. have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus…
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New Report on K-12 Schools and Medicaid
AASA A new report from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families explains the hit K-12 funding would take if Medicaid resources are cut. Some of the key findings include: COVID-19 has caused concern over the anticipated budget cuts to K-12 education nationwide. Cuts to Medicaid are also imminent but are expected to be…
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Medicaid Programs Adjusting to Change During the Pandemic
Medpage Today By: Joyce Frieden As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on in the U.S., one constant that many people have come to rely on for healthcare is Medicaid. But that federal-state program is expected to come under increasing fiscal pressure in the days to come, experts told MedPage Today…Despite the large numbers of people losing…
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Request for Action on Pending Section 1115 Demonstrations to Reduce Racial Disparities
The Georgetown University Center for Children and Families and 278 other organizations sent the following letter to the Secretary of Health and Human Services urging him to take action on certain pending section 1115 demonstration waivers to address racial disparities and years of systematic racism. Medicaid_Supporting Black Women Sign-On Letter
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CCF Annual Child Health Policy Conference 2020
Agenda Download the conference agenda here. Read the speaker biographies here. Download the participant list here. Session Registration July 28th Health Equity 11:00 AM ET Register We’ll kick off this year’s virtual conference with a conversation about how we can dig deeper and do more to combat systemic racism as we incorporate health equity into…
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School Reopening Debate Highlights Student Health Concerns
The political debate over reopening schools has brought children’s health to the forefront of the nation’s coronavirus crisis, often in ways contrary to expectations. Conservative leaders, pushing for in-person instruction, are citing the social-emotional needs of children stuck at home for months. Liberal leaders, urging caution, are calling for local control of schools. From a…
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Proposed Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility Rule Overhaul Back on the Docket at OMB
In a speech to the National Association of Medicaid Directors last November, Administrator Seema Verma announced that CMS would be overhauling regulations to tighten the standards for eligibility verification in Medicaid and CHIP. For many months, the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) was listed on the regulatory review dashboard at the Office of Information and…
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How much will COVID-19 drive up uninsured numbers? New report underscores how hard it is to know
The year 2020 is certainly going to be one to remember in the history books. The current recession associated with the pandemic is undoubtedly going to result in more people enrolling in public coverage and, sadly, will also drive up the uninsured rate in the U.S (especially in states that have not expanded Medicaid). But…
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Enrollment in Arizona’s Medicaid program hits record 2M adults and children
Arizona Republic By: Stephanie Innes Arizona’s Medicaid program hit a record-high enrollment of 2 million people this month, and some experts predict the numbers will continue to rise. … While the national emergency is set to expire July 25, it is expected to be extended, which will prolong the freeze on disenrollment at least until…
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As millions lose health insurance, Trump administration offers little help
Los Angeles Times By: Noam Levey As millions of people lose jobs in the coronavirus outbreak, jeopardizing their health benefits, the Trump administration and many states are doing little if anything to connect Americans with other insurance coverage. … Federal courts have blocked work requirements, deeming them inconsistent with Medicaid’s purpose of providing health coverage,…
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As millions lose health insurance, Trump administration offers little help
Los Angeles Times By: Noam Levey As millions of people lose jobs in the coronavirus outbreak, jeopardizing their health benefits, the Trump administration and many states are doing little if anything to connect Americans with other insurance coverage. … Federal courts have blocked work requirements, deeming them inconsistent with Medicaid’s purpose of providing health coverage,…
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Pandemic And Budget Cuts Might Trap Colorado Health Programs In A Vicious Cycle
Colorado Public Radio By: Markian Hawryluk As a teenager, Paulina Castle struggled for years with suicidal thoughts. When her mental health was at its most fragile, she would isolate herself, spending days in her room alone. “That’s the exact thing that makes you feel significantly worse,” the 26-year-old Denver woman said. “It creates a cycle…
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New CCF Issue Brief on How Medicaid Block Grants and Per Capita Caps Would Harm State Funding of K-12 Education
Today, we released a new issue brief focusing on how radically restructuring federal financing of the Medicaid program by converting it to a block grant or a per capita cap would impose large, negative pressures on state budgets. That, in turn, could lead to significant reductions in state funding of K-12 education, which would result…
