Resources
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Express Lane Eligibility: New Options Under CHIPRA
The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) provides states with new tools and flexibility for implementing Express Lane Eligibility. In general, state Medicaid and CHIP agencies can partner with other public programs, such as school lunch, food stamps, or WIC, to conduct outreach and enrollment activities. A state may also obtain and…
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CHIPRA is One Year Old Today
By Jocelyn Guyer In many cultures, the first birthday of a child is a major community celebration. It signifies that the baby has made it through the critical first year and is now destined for great things. We should be celebrating the first year of the Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA). CHIPRA renewed the Children’s Health…
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Health Care in the President’s Budget: Extension of ARRA FMAP Increase
While there hasn’t been much good news coming out of Washington lately on the health care front, the President’s newly released FY 2011 budget offers some positive developments. Most notably, the budget proposes $25.5 billion to extend the temporary FMAP increase for another six months, through June 2011. The FMAP increase and its accompanying maintenance…
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Understanding the New Quality Initiatives in CHIPRA
In addition to extending the CHIP program, the CHIP reauthorization bill signed into law on February 4, 2009, includes a number of important program and financing changes affecting Medicaid as well as CHIP. Among these are a set of quality provisions that aim to help develop child-specific quality measures and improve the quality of care…
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New Mom Sees Some Signs of Hope for Health Coverage
“…let’s talk about honoring our most important responsibility as Iowans. That is, our duty as parents, and as shepherds of our children’s future. You know, I’m proud of the fact, that working together, we’ve made a long-term investment in the health and education of “all” children… Together, we must continue this investment, and my budget…
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My Top Three Reasons Why We Should Still Do Health Reform
Most of us were glued to the TV set last night waiting to see what President Obama was going to say about the future of the health care reform bill given its now uncertain fate in Congress. As I settled in to watch with my husband and one of my girls (the other one sadly…
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Health Coverage can be as Precarious as Children’s Health
The image of sweet little Sarah McIntyre immediately came to mind as I read the Pediatrics Journal’s study that showed that children with special health care needs were 57% less likely to be uninsured in 2005 than those in 2001. The Pediatrics report is great news but it should be taken with a dose of caution. …
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What’s at Stake for Kids and Families if Health Reform Fails?
By Jocelyn Guyer Like everyone else in D.C. health policy circles, I’ve spent much of the last few days obsessively checking for updates on whether there is a coherent plan emerging from the White House and Congress for moving forward on health reform. Not yet, which means that instead of rolling up my sleeves and…
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Children and Families Still Need Coverage Despite the Latest Roadblock for Health Reform
The election of Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate changes many things, but it doesn’t change one simple fact: children and families still need better access to quality, affordable health coverage. While figuring a way out of this sticky situation is above my pay grade, there are a lot of savvy legislative strategists working on…
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Medicaid and State Budgets: A Look at the Facts
By Martha Heberlein There has been much discussion about states’ ability (and willingness) to help finance health reform, especially as it concerns an expansion of Medicaid. A little background data may help to illuminate the debate. While significant, Medicaid’s role in state budgets is far more modest than the headlines often suggest. Medicaid constitutes 16.2%…
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A Strong and Affordable Exchange Should be Children’s Priority
(Editor’s Note: John Bouman is the President of the Shriver Center. He is recognized for being one of the most effective and thoughtful public-benefit advocates in the country. Say Ahhh! asked him for his thoughts on national health reform.) We all worry about our children so of course we are concerned about the treatment of…
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A Glimpse of What the Final Health Reform Bill Might Look Like
By Jocelyn Guyer Right after the question of how the incredibly busy OMB director Peter Orszag managed to find the time for such an exciting personal life, the major topic in D.C. policy circles is what will be in the final health care bill. For the latest “big pictures” stories, check out Politico and the…
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Five Reasons Not to Add Red Tape to Your Child and Family Health Programs
As state fiscal pressures continue to mount, states may consider adopting policies that erect barriers to coverage for children and their families in order to save money. However, evidence confirms that introducing barriers to coverage and care is not a wise strategy. In fact, red tape not only keeps eligible children and families from receiving…
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2010 Kicks Off with Better, More Efficient Way to Document Citizenship
Each celebration of a new year brings a renewed sense of optimism and 2010 offers tremendous promise in mitigating the chilling impact of the citizenship documentation requirement imposed by the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) on Medicaid. The citizenship documentation requirement not only made it more difficult for eligible citizens to enroll in Medicaid but…
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Tennessee No Longer an “Island of Excellence” on Children’s Health Coverage
Michele Johnson, Managing Attorney, Tennessee Justice Center In 2006, Governor Phil Bredesen pledged to make our state “an island of excellence” by making sure “every child in Tennessee” had health coverage. He established a new program, to be known as CoverKids. CoverKids would be Tennessee’s version of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP. The…
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A New Year Ushers in a New Phase in Health Reform Debate
While the rest of the nation took a break to celebrate the holidays, the gears in Washington continued the churn bringing us ever closer to health reform legislation being signed into law. Now our attention turns to the House and Senate conference committee that has not yet been officially appointed but staff is already laying…
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Key Medicaid, CHIP, and Low-Income Provisions in the Final Senate Health Reform Bill: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
This fact sheet provides a description of the key Medicaid, CHIP, and low-income provisions in the health reform bill approved by the Senate on December 24, 2009.
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2009 Comes to a Close With Chances for Health Reform Looking Good
This morning the Senate passed its version of the health care reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. As we wind down the year here at CCF, comprehensive reform remains closer at hand than at any time in recent history. While the bill is far from perfect, children and their parents have an…
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The Holidays Are Looking Brighter for Nine States Earning CHIPRA Bonuses
It is indeed fitting – with the holidays focused on children and giving – that HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius awarded more than $72 million in bonus payments last week to nine states for their success in enrolling low-income children in Medicaid. Like little kids during the holidays, we have awaited the announcement of these performance…
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What’s in the Manager’s Amendment for Kids?
Today on a snowy day in DC, agreement was reached on the Senate health care bill making it likely that Senator Reid has enough votes to pass the bill before Christmas. The Senator also filed his Managers Amendment to the bill. The Congressional Budget Office followed soon after with the bill’s score. Tucked between the more…