Resources
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Super Committee Holds First Meeting
While it seems like only yesterday that we all endured the debt-ceiling debate, it is already time to focus on the next major threat facing Medicaid. Today the “super committee”, which was created by the debt-ceiling deal, held its first meeting. The committee is charged with finding at least $1.2 trillion in deficit savings through…
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The Arizona KidsCare CHIP Enrollment Freeze: How Has it Impacted Enrollment and Families?
On December 21, 2009, Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona imposed an enrollment freeze in the state’s CHIP program, KidsCare. It is currently the only state in the country with a freeze in place. As of July 15, 2011, there were over 108,000 children on the waiting list for KidsCare coverage, which continues to grow at…
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We’re Stronger Together
Hurricane Irene served as a stark reminder of how much families, communities and states rely upon a strong federal government to help them in their time of need. * Without NOAA’s National Hurricane Center, how would families, businesses and communities be able to plan and prepare for the hurricane? * Without FEMA, where would people…
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A Team Approach to Care
As policymakers across the country look to balance their budgets, some are turning to Medicaid, recycling the same harmful policies they’ve used year-after-year: eliminating coverage for vulnerable Americans, restricting critical benefits like prescription drug coverage, imposing premiums on those who can’t afford them, and slashing already-low provider reimbursement rates. Community Catalyst and Georgetown University Health…
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Electronic Notification Helps Keep Utah Kids Connected to Coverage
By Barbara Munoz, Voices for Utah Children Although I am admittedly behind the curve a bit, I am proud to say I finally own a smart phone. The level of functionality of this “phone” (let’s be honest, it’s a tiny computer) is astounding. I can check my email, my Facebook account, send out a “tweet”, purchase…
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Momentum Builds as Diverse Group of States Receive Exchange Establishment Grants
By Joe Touschner In addition to the package of proposed rules it released on August 12, HHS also announced the award of more than $185 million in grants to help states develop their exchanges. The federal funds will support state efforts to strengthen information technology systems, analyze insurance markets, develop consumer assistance capacity, and design…
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New Transparency Rules Will Help Consumers Compare Health Insurance Plans
We got some good news last week from the Administration – new rules for individual and group health plans that require them to disclose critical information about their benefits and out-of-pocket costs. For many of us, this is sort of “ho-hum” news because our employer pretty much makes the decisions about what health plan to…
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Outreach Push Continues to Cover Eligible Children in Medicaid and CHIP
In one of those competitions where you wish all the teams could win, CMS was limited to choosing the best of the best in a second round of $40 million in grants for Medicaid and CHIP outreach, enrollment and retention activities. In announcing the grants, friends at CMS pointed to the olympic success in Oregon as strong…
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Fulfilling the Promise of 2014: Aligning and Simplifying Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment for Children and Parents
Simplification and alignment of policies for children in Medicaid and CHIP have helped states fill the gap in private insurance and achieve record levels of coverage for 90% of our nation’s children. These lessons are carried forward in the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of coverage through Medicaid and the Exchanges. The ACA envision a customer-friendly,…
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2011 Kids Count Data Book: Great Resource for Advocates, Reveals Recession’s Impact on Children
By Tara Mancini Nearly 8 million of our nation’s children had at least one unemployed parent in 2010. Twenty percent of U.S. children lived in poverty in 2009. From 2001 to 2009, the number of low-income children climbed from 27 million to 31 million. Over the last few years, we have become accustomed to hearing…
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ACA Propels States to Adopt Best Practices in Simplification and Alignment
and Jennifer Mezey, National Women’s Law Center Simplification and alignment of policies for children in Medicaid and CHIP have helped states fill the gap in private insurance and achieve record levels of coverage for 90% of our nation’s children. These lessons are carried forward in the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) expansion of coverage through Medicaid…
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Affordable Care Act Preventive Services are Good News for Women and Children
By Jennifer Mezey, National Women’s Law Center In a significant victory for women and girls, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced this week that all new insurance plans would be required to cover a wide range of preventive services aimed at women’s health – without cost sharing — starting in the first…
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More Eligible Kids are Enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP
By Martha Heberlein Maybe it’s the famine in Somalia, the ever-fluctuating stock market, the riots in London, the ongoing deficit and debt talks, but I’m in some serious need of good news. Thanks to Jenny Kenney and her colleagues at the Urban Institute, we’ve got some – participation in Medicaid and CHIP has gone up!…
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Winners and Losers in State Budget Debates
By Tara Mancini I recently blogged about the way Medicaid has been affected in state budgets and concluded that while the program may incur more cuts, the future outlook is somewhat hopeful due to expected decreases in enrollment and rebounding state revenues. However, an in depth analysis on state budget cuts by the Center on…
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Proposed Rules Fast-track State Efforts in Streamlining and Coordinating Coverage for Children and Families under the ACA
Successful state strategies in streamlining eligibility and coordinating enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP are the heart and soul of the latest round of proposed regulations issued for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). While we’re still wading through the three sets of proposed rules released today by CMS, it’s clear that these regulations take a number…
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CMS Offers a Sweeter Deal in Trading Up Integrated Eligibility Systems
Even if you tend to gloss over my technology blogs, please keep reading because this is really BIG news for the states. Yesterday, CMS announced that, for a limited time, it is waiving the requirement that the cost to replace or improve integrated eligibility systems be allocated across programs (at each program’s matching rate). Let’s…
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Health Reform is Working – Proof is in the Family Stories
By Jeff Tieman, Catholic Health Association Bryce Dixon, a 24-year old dairy farmer in Cosby, Missouri near the Kansas border, suffers from ankylosing spondylitis, a type of arthritis that primarily affects the spine. This condition causes debilitating swelling of the joints and feet, as well as autoimmune deficiencies. Bryce requires twice monthly injections of a…
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Just Getting Started…
By Jocelyn Guyer As more details emerge on the debt ceiling deal, one thing is becoming more and more clear – we are just getting started. In the months and years ahead, we can expect to see a continuation of the deeply ideological debate over the role of government in the United States that has…
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Time Is Ripe for Advocates to Weigh In on Exchanges
By Joel Ferber, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri One of the most important ways that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will improve insurance coverage for Americans is through the development of state health insurance exchanges. So far in 2011, ten states have enacted legislation to set up a state-based exchange while eight others have passed…
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Debt-Ceiling Compromise Kicks Medicaid Fight Down the Road
By Katherine Howitt, Community Catalyst Yesterday, the president signed a bill that ended months of intense negotiations over lifting the country’s debt-ceiling. But for the fate of Medicaid – and the millions of seniors, people living with disabilities, and low-income children who rely on the program – the negotiations are just beginning. What’s the deal? In…