Resources
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Early Wins for Children and Families in Health Reform Highlighted
Today, CCF released a new issue brief that takes a look at some of the most immediate changes in health reform for children and families. While many of the sweeping changes to the insurance industry and other major provisions do not go into effect until 2014, children have some much earlier “wins” to look forward…
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One Year Ago Today, Say Ahhh! Was Born
On the very first day of Say Ahhh!’s existence, Cindy Mann wrote: “The health care policy field is filled with engaged, bright, and talented people and I find it invigorating to get out and talk to them while traveling to various states to promote children’s health coverage. I see this blog as a great place…
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Listening to the Mann: For Federal Medicaid Director, 2014 Starts Now
By David Blatt, Director, Oklahoma Policy Institute This week I had the pleasure of attending a gathering of policy analysts and advocates from 15 states on “Transforming Health Care Coverage for Children and Families,” convened by Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families. The conference, which focused on the opportunities and challenges of providing coverage…
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VA Families Can Breathe Easier as FAMIS Cuts Were Averted
By John McInerney, Health Policy Director, The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis Families in Virginia can breathe a bit easier these days, as efforts by Governor Bob McDonnell and the House of Delegates to tighten eligibility in the states’ CHIP program have failed. Virginia’s program is called Family Access to Medical Insurance Security (FAMIS), and it…
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It Happened One Night
By Donna Cohen Ross, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities All in one night — February 11 — 10,484 eligible children were enrolled into Louisiana’s Medicaid program. Are you trying to imagine this? If so, you’re probably picturing mile-long lines of children winding through Baton Rouge, parents in tow, clutching packets of forms and documents. …
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Summary of Medicaid, CHIP, and Low-Income Provisions in Health Care Reform
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is designed (with its companion set of amendments in H.R. 4782) to provide coverage to 32 million people, adopt broad-reaching reforms in insurance industry practices, make major new investments in public health, and reduce the federal deficits. This…
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PICO’s Gordon Whitman Reflects on Historic Sunday Vote for Health Reform
(Editor’s Note: While CCF staff had their noses buried in legislative language and watched the health reform debate from the comforts of their own homes, PICO’s Gordon Whitman was out on the front lines. From what we saw on our televisions, there was a lot of commotion as protestors on both sides of the issue…
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Maintenance of Effort (MOE) in Health Reform Helps Preserve Current Children’s Health Coverage
It’s appropriate that we are celebrating the passage of health reform while enjoying the first signs of spring. With snow banks receding and the sun warming, we happily anticipate the bounty of health reform as we watch the early sprouts emerge. Ongoing state budget woes, however, remind us that a spring snowstorm can still bring…
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Cutting Through the Clutter on Medicaid Provisions and It’s Impact on States
For some reason or another, there always seems to be a lot of misinformation swirling around when it comes to Medicaid. At CCF, we received a flurry of calls about how health reform’s Medicaid provisions would impact state budgets. One call came from WAMU (local public radio station) reporter Rebecca Blatt who was trying to explain…
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Holding the Line on Medicaid and CHIP: Key Questions and Answers About Health Care Reform’s Maintenance-of-Effort Requirements
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requires that states maintain their current eligibility standards for Medicaid and the CHIP. These maintenance-of-eligibility (MOE) requirements apply to adults until the major components of health reform go into effect on January 1, 2014, and to children until September 30, 2019. This set of question and answers…
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Health Care Reform and Covering Sick Children
Once President Obama signed into law the health care reform bill, we all started to dig a little deeper into what the provisions mean for those in the “real world.” One issue that has risen to the top is untangling the new rules governing when insurance companies have to cover sick children. So, let’s break…
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Hoyas Lost in Providence but Georgetown’s CCF Conference was a Winner
By Ann Bacharach, Pennsylvania Health Law Project I went to Providence last week, just ahead of an historic weekend. No, I’m not talking about Rounds One and Two of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament or the upset of Georgetown by Ohio. No, I was there to attend the second of CCF’s regional meetings: Transforming Health…
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Health Reform is New Law of the Land
By Jocelyn Guyer Today, health reform is the new law of the land. In a signing ceremony before an enthusiastic group of supporters, President Obama signed the health reform bill. (While the House-passed reconciliation measure that makes some improvements to the health reform bill is still pending in the Senate, the key elements of health reform…
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As House Heads Toward Climactic Vote, the Final Details of the Health Reform Package Emerge
By Jocelyn Guyer Yesterday, the House of Representatives released a “reconciliation” or “fix it” bill with final changes to the health reform package. With these changes, we can now get a complete picture of what health reform could mean for America’s families and children. The $940 billion package would cover 32 million uninsured people through Exchanges and…
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Unprecedented Cuts in Arizona Will be Felt for Years to Come
By Martha Heberlein Facing a $2.6 billion budget shortfall in fiscal year 2011, Arizona has resorted to $1.1 billion in cuts. In doing so, the state made the unprecedented move of repealing the state’s Children’s Health Insurance program, KidsCare. Estimates are that 47,000 low-income children will lose coverage as a result and another 13,000 children…
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Medicaid Fiscal Relief Q&A
The new game in DC these days seems to be naming every other bill coming out of Congress a “jobs bill.” While the provisions in each of these bills may indeed focus on job creation, it has become nearly impossible to keep the different bills straight. It becomes particularly perplexing when tracking an issue many…
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Let’s Take a Break from Biting Our Nails on Health Reform to Think About Teeth
Mom: “Did you brush your teeth?” Child: “Yep.” Mom: “How come your toothbrush isn’t wet?” This is an excerpt from the script of the bedtime drama performed live nightly in the comfort of my own home. Just between you, me and the tooth fairy … after battling on the nutrition, hygiene and homework fronts, I…
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Health Reform Expected to Be Moving Next Week in House; Prospects for Fiscal Relief Remain Good
By Jocelyn Guyer Brace yourselves for a hectic few weeks leading up to the Congressional recess. According to CQ, House leadership is preparing for a possible final vote on health reform as soon as next week. It is still unclear whether or not they have the votes to pass the measure, which would actually be…
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Holding Steady: Medicaid Fiscal Relief and its Implications for America’s Children and Families
In the current recession, Medicaid has become more important than ever, offering coverage to an additional 2 million children. This issue brief explores the role that Medicaid fiscal relief has played in sustaining affordable coverage options for children and their families during these uncertain times, and the risk of unraveling the progress that has been…
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Ohio Accepts Sebelius’ Challenge to Enroll All Eligible Kids
March 10, 2010 was a memorable day for children’s health advocates in Ohio. Ohio became the first state to join HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ quest to enroll all children eligible for Medicaid and CHIP. In accepting the challenge Secretary Sebelius issued to states in November at the National Children’s Health Insurance Summit to enroll all eligible children,…