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Strong Opposition Emerges to Damaging Medicaid State Financing and Supplemental Payment Rule
As our CCF public comments and my Health Affairs blog post explain, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed “Fiscal Accountability” rule threatens to significantly alter how states finance their share of the cost of Medicaid programs and how states provide supplemental payments to hospitals, nursing homes, physicians and other health care providers.…
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SSA Launches A Stealth Assault on Medicaid Coverage for Children and Parents with Disabilities
As readers of Say Ahhh! know, children’s enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP is declining, and the number of uninsured children is increasing. There are a number of factors at play, including a “see-no-disenrollment, hear-no-disenrollment” posture from CMS Administrator Seema Verma. The Administrator is doubling down with an eligibility rule now under review at the Office…
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The Trump Administration Is Coming For Medicaid Again
Huffington Post By; Jonathan Cohn The Trump administration is back with a new initiative that could make it harder for some low-income Americans to get health care. … But if some state officials try, as several conservative ones seem inclined to do, and if the courts allow it, as perhaps some conservative judges will decide…
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Trump Administration Clears The Way For Medicaid Block Grants
NPR By: Selena Simmons-Duffin The Trump administration wants to dramatically alter the way the federal government gives money to states for Medicaid. … Critics responded quickly to Thursday’s announcement. Eagan Kemp, health care policy advocate with the liberal advocacy group Public Citizen, called the program “a Medicaid block grant by another name.” Edwin Park of…
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Trump vs. Medicaid
Axios By: Sam Baker It may not get the most attention, but Medicaid is the prime target of the Trump administration’s health care agenda. … All of this amounts to a “fundamental rewrite of the essence of the Medicaid program,” said Joan Alker, a Medicaid expert at Georgetown University and a critic of Trump’s proposals.…
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Comments on Rules Regarding the Frequency and Notice of Continuing Disability Reviews
The Georgetown University Center for Children and Families submitted the following comments to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on SSA Docket No. SSA-2018-0026, “Rules Regarding the Frequency and Notice of Continuing Disability Reviews.” CCF Final SSI NPRM Comments 1.31.20
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Fighting Fear with Facts: Here’s What the Supreme Court Ruling on Public Charge Injunction Means for Immigrant Families
Editor’s Note: On September 9, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a final rule called Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility that will restore longstanding public charge policy effective December 23, 2022. Learn more in our factsheet. Earlier this week the Supreme Court issued a ruling to allow the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to implement…
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Medicaid Work Requirements and Beyond: CMS Administrator Tries a New Work-Around
For the past 3 years, CMS Administrator Seema Verma has been on a crusade to convert Medicaid from health insurance to a welfare program. The spear at the point of this attack has been work requirements, which, under the guise of “demonstrations,” she has sought to impose as a condition of eligibility for Medicaid coverage. …
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Leading Children’s Health Groups Oppose New Federal Guidance on Medicaid
Block grants and per capita caps would cause parents to lose coverage and put children and families’ health at risk The American Academy of Pediatrics, Children’s Defense Fund, Children’s Hospital Association, Family Voices, First Focus on Children, Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, March of Dimes and National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners issue…
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Statement by Joan Alker on Medicaid Block Grant/Per Capita Cap Guidance
Following is a statement by Georgetown University Center for Children and Families Executive Director Joan Alker regarding the Trump Administration’s Medicaid block grant/per capita cap guidance announcement: “The misguided, unlawful guidance issued by CMS today encourages states to gamble with the health and well-being of their residents and their budgets by trading in their guarantee…
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Georgia House Study Committee Recommendations Call for Medicaid Extension, Workforce Development to Support Infant and Toddler Social Emotional Health
Georgia, like most states, is facing a growing need for social and emotional health support for young children and families. During the past year, in response to concerns about prevention and early identification of mental health problems in children and adolescents in Georgia, a study committee comprised of five members of the state’s House of…
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The Health 202: Trump can enforce his ‘public charge’ immigration crackdown — for now
The Washington Post By: Paige Winfield Cunningham President Trump has made it a habit of running to the Supreme Court for help in buttressing his controversial new policies. The latest example: The court’s 5-4 order yesterday allowing his administration to begin implementing new “public charge” rules. These rules will make it harder for immigrants to…
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Nebraska Two-Tiered Approach to Medicaid Expansion
Modern Healthcare By: Michael Brady 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…
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New report finds fewer Ohio children have health insurance
WTOL By: Michael Tatar 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,…
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Editorial: Prospects for long-term health in the US continue to decline
The Columbus Dispatch By: Editorial Board For a state and nation already on notice that our long-term health is deteriorating, news at the beginning of this week sounded disturbing wakeup calls. The health of millennials is worse than the Generation Xers that they follow; and a 40% increase in uninsured rates for the youngest Ohioans —…
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New Resource Highlights What Works for Healthy Social and Emotional Development of Young Children
As more states look to support healthy social and emotional development of young children and their families, the experts at the National Center for Children in Poverty recently launched a database that combines descriptions of research-informed policies and programs that support infant and early childhood mental health with profiles of model states implementing them. The…
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Providing Health Insurance for Kids
The Intelligencer By: Editorial Board 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% of Ohio children were not covered by health insurance, the Georgetown…
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Cause for alarm: Thousands more Ohio children have lost health insurance
The Columbus Dispatch By: Cathy Candisky 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… In the Buckeye State, nearly 12,000 more infants, toddlers and preschoolers were without…
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Report Shows Tens of Thousands of Arkansas Children Are Uninsured
KUAF Public Radio By: Jacqueline Froelich 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. … Tune in here!
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In the Ozarks, a Free Clinic that Wants to Go out of Business
KBIA Public Radio By: Sebastian Martinez Valdivia Trucks hauling timber out of the Ozarks flew by on Route 60, which runs right through the town of 2,700. The clinic sits next to the First Baptist Church, which donated the building. It’s open once a week, and… it’s free… Joan Alker heads the Center for Children…
