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New Brief Unpacks How States Can Leverage Medicaid Funds to Expand School-Based Health
It’s been five years since the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) opened the door to more Medicaid reimbursement for health services delivered in schools. School districts, once restricted to seeking reimbursement only under very specific conditions, were permitted to cover all eligible services delivered to all Medicaid-enrolled students. Put simply, this means more…
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Same Unanswered Questions about Trump Budget’s CHIP Financing Proposal
The Trump Administration’s fiscal year 2021 budget, released on February 10, again proposes to make a legislative change to the financing system for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) (described here). Entitled “Strengthen the CHIP Safety Net for States,” the proposal is identical to one included in the 2020 budget. It would eliminate the CHIP’s…
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Administration’s Budget Proposal Includes At Least $1 Trillion in Medicaid Cuts
Earlier this week, the Administration proposed a budget for FY2021 that it says would cut federal Medicaid spending by $920 billion, or 16 percent over the next ten years. (Current law baseline of $5.861 trillion, Table S-3, minus proposed spending of $4.941 trillion,Table S-4). A more realistic number would be at least $1 trillion over…
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Nebraska could pave the way forward for Medicaid work requirements
Modern Healthcare Nebraska’s two-tiered approach to Medicaid expansion has spawned interest among health wonks because its work requirement could stand up to legal scrutiny. … “Does this comport with the objectives of the Medicaid program, which is to provide health coverage to vulnerable people?” said Joan Alker, executive director and a co-founder of the Center…
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Spence: SC’s war against poor residents shows total disconnect with working people
Charleston City Paper South Carolina is a poor state. Past the “Great Day” greetings and glossy magazine rankings, in a slew of economic metrics, many South Carolina residents rank among the poorest in the nation. … Two weeks before Christmas, Gov. Henry McMaster announced that the state received a waiver for a new Medicaid “community…
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Opinion: More Kentucky children lack health insurance, but things could be changing
Courier Journal After years of progress in getting kids covered, the nation now has more than 1 million uninsured young children, a significant increase of 114,000 from 2016 to 2018, according to an analysis by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. Kentucky is among the 11 states where both the number and rate…
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In Texas, Thousands of Kids Lose Medicaid Coverage Each Month
The Texas Observer It’s becoming a familiar scene across Texas: a parent brings her child to the doctor for a checkup. She signs in at the front desk. Only then does she learn that her child has been kicked off her health insurance—a casualty of missing paperwork and hoops she didn’t know existed. Next comes the…
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New report finds fewer Ohio children have health insurance
WTOL 11 A new alarming report has Ohio health officials looking for answers after it revealed the number of children in Ohio without health insurance grew for the second year in a row. The study, conducted by Georgetown University, shows nearly 12,000 more children under the age of six without insurance in 2018, compared to…
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Taking steps to cover children
Herald-Star It appears there are more avenues than ever for states to ensure as many children as possible are covered by health insurance. So why were nearly 12,000 fewer Ohio youngsters covered in 2018 than in 2016? … In 2016, 3.6 percent of Ohio children were not covered by health insurance, the Georgetown University Center…
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Editorial: Prospects for long-term health in the US continue to decline
The Columbus Dispatch The health of millennials is worse than the Generation Xers that they follow; and a 40% increase in uninsured rates for the youngest Ohioans — infants to preschoolers — could have long-term consequences not only for their health but also their brain development and overall well-being. Combined, these developments raise serious questions about…
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Providing Health Insurance for Kids
The Intelligencer It appears there are more avenues than ever for states to ensure as many children as possible are covered by health insurance. So why were nearly 12,000 fewer Ohio youngsters covered in 2018 than in 2016? … But if there are other answers — and, most likely, there are — state officials should…
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Cause for alarm: Thousands more Ohio children have lost health insurance
The Columbus Dispatch In the Buckeye State, nearly 12,000 more infants, toddlers and preschoolers were without coverage in 2018 than two years earlier. Advocates are urging Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration to improve and promote access to the tax-funded coverage. … Ohio had 41,642 children without health coverage, an increase of nearly 12,000 in two years,…
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Report Shows Tens of Thousands of Arkansas Children Are Uninsured
KUAF A new report by Georgetown University Center for Children and Families reveals that millions of American children are uninsured — a trend reversal — including tens of thousands of children in Arkansas. … Listen in here!
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SCOTUS allows ‘public charge’ rule to take immediate effect
Advisory Board The Supreme Court on Monday issued a 5-4 decision allowing the Trump administration to enforce its so-called “public charge” rule, meaning federal officials can consider whether immigrants are receiving or are likely to receive Medicaid or other public benefits when reviewing their residency applications. … Joan Alker, executive director of Georgetown University’s Center for Children…
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Medicaid expansion is right for Wyoming, women
Jackson Hole News & Guide The Wyoming State Legislature convenes on Monday. This is the place where I remind readers that Wyoming’s Senate has just six women out of 30 senators and the House only eight women out of 60 representatives. The 12 men (and zero women) on the Joint Appropriations Committee who determine the…
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After shunning Medicaid expansion, Florida Republicans see the political power of tackling health care
The Florida Times Union With GOP trying to live up to the president’s health care promise, Florida lawmakers aren’t necessarily embracing an expansion of Medicaid. Backed by a scorched earth attack on Big Pharma and the “health care industrial complex,” House Speaker Jose Oliva is promoting wide-ranging changes to the state’s medical landscape that may…
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Here’s what could help save more black infants’ lives. But NC isn’t doing it.
News and Observer Deaths of African-American babies declined most quickly in states that expanded Medicaid coverage, researchers have found. North Carolina isn’t one of those states. … Joan Alker, executive director of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University, said the conclusions about insurance improving infant health make sense. As it stands in…
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Medicaid block grants would allow states not to cover some drugs
Modern Healthcare Medicaid block grant guidance unveiled on Thursday would allow states to exclude some prescription drugs from their formularies, though the CMS in 2018 denied Massachusetts’ request to employ a similar strategy. … Edwin Park, a research professor at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy, said he views the potential optional expansion…
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Opinion: More Kentucky children lack health insurance, but things could be changing
Courier Journal After years of progress in getting kids covered, the nation now has more than 1 million uninsured young children, a significant increase of 114,000 from 2016 to 2018, according to an analysis by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. Kentucky is among the 11 states where both the number and rate…
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Pursuing Medicaid coverage at birth, Casey launches ‘Marshall Plan’ of policies for America’s children
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Sen. Bob Casey plans to propose the most sweeping expansions of children’s health care, education and school meal programs in recent memory, launching a messaging campaign in Harrisburg on Friday that he will take across Pennsylvania in 2020. Among the central tenets of the plan, which was provided to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, is…
