Blog
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Biden Administration Actions on Public Charge Rules Help Restore Hope for Immigrant Families
This week brought some much-needed good news on public charge, which has immigration advocates singing Prince’s classic hit, “1999,” in homage to a return to the longstanding public charge rules also known as the 1999 field guidance. The good news is certainly worthy of a princely celebration, but some may be wondering how we got…
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Too Many Babies Miss Out on Medicaid Infant Coverage, Promising Practices Point the Way for States
By: Kay Johnson For more than 25 years, federal law has guaranteed enrollment for babies born to Medicaid beneficiary mothers, known as deemed newborn coverage, which begins at birth and continues uninterrupted through the first year of life. Passed with bipartisan Congressional support under the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 (P.L. 98-369), the purpose of…
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Kaiser Family Foundation and Georgetown CCF Release 50-State Survey on Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility and Enrollment
The 2021 Annual 50-State Survey on Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility and Enrollment conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and CCF is now available. As in previous years, the report confirms eligibility levels for children, pregnant women, parents and expansion adults. However, in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the survey was scaled back in…
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Federal Incentives to Expand Medicaid and 2021 State Legislative Session End Dates
Congress debates and looks likely to pass a COVID relief bill this month that includes substantial new financial incentives for Medicaid non-expansion states to finally extend health coverage to lower income parents and workers as 39 other states (including DC) have done. States that expand would get two years of increased Medicaid payments based on…
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Health Policy and the First Amendment: Protecting public’s right to be heard in the state legislative process
Georgetown University Collaboration Defends Rights, Facilitates Civic Engagement Recently here at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy, I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of my colleagues at the Georgetown University Law School in the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection. Professor Mary McCord and Senior Counsel Annie Owens are respected attorneys…
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More Evidence that Medicaid Expansion Linked to Employment and Education Gains
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard people say “Medicaid expansion will encourage people not to work,” despite the fact that multiple studies have demonstrated just the opposite. We know that before the pandemic, most adults enrolled in Medicaid who could work did so, and the majority of adults who weren’t working reported…
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House-Passed American Rescue Plan Act Would Spur Medicaid Expansion and Promote Maternal Health
[Editor’s Note: President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law on March 11, 2021. See Georgetown University CCF/CHIR brief for a summary of final health coverage provisions.] On February 27, the House passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (H.R. 1319), its COVID-19 relief reconciliation bill. The bill includes a number of provisions…
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Research Update: NBER Studies Look at Medicaid Expansion and Mortality and Impact of Cost-Sharing On Prescription Drug Use
Two recent working papers from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) demonstrate how health policy decisions can affect mortality. The first examines how the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion reduces mortality and the second examines the mortality effects of cost-sharing for prescription drugs. Medicaid and Mortality: New Evidence from Linked Survey and Administrative Data,…
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Medicaid Managed Care: 2020 Results for the “Big Five”
[View this blog for an update on Medicaid Managed Care earnings.] Corporate earnings statements for 2020 are now out. It was a very good year for the five largest health care companies in the Medicaid managed care market: Aetna/CVS Health; Anthem; Centene; Molina; and UnitedHealthcare. Each company experienced an increase in Medicaid enrollment between December…
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Workplace Wellness Programs Have Overlooked Health Equity
By Julie Zuckerbrod* In 2017, many food service and maintenance staff at Yale University received a notice about a mandatory health screening and “coaching” program. These employees and their spouses were automatically enrolled in the Yale Health Expectations Program (HEP), which required them to complete a series of health services like physical exams, blood tests, and…
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New CBO Study Compares Net Prices for Brand-Name Drugs Among Federal Programs, Finds Medicaid Gets Largest Discounts
In a new groundbreaking study, the Congressional Budget Office compared brand-name drug prices, net of rebates and discounts, across select federal programs and agencies including Medicaid, Medicare Part D and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). It found that Medicaid gets the lowest net prices, far below that of Medicare Part D plans and well…
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Unpacking the Postpartum Coverage Extension Option in the COVID-19 Relief Bill
Earlier this month, the House Energy and Commerce committee released a COVID-19 relief package that included a slate of Medicaid improvements, including significant incentives for the holdout states to expand Medicaid coverage to all low income adults. The bill also includes a Medicaid state plan amendment option to offer pregnancy-related Medicaid and CHIP coverage for…
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CBO Estimates Confirm Lifting Medicaid Drug Rebate Cap Results in Significant Federal and State Savings
On Monday, February 22, the House Budget Committee plans to mark up the House COVID-19 relief reconciliation bill, with the full House possibly voting on the bill later in the week. As I have previously explained, one sound Medicaid provision — section 3107 of the bill —would, as of January 1, 2023, eliminate the current…
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Medicaid Expansion’s Effects on Families: More coverage, improved maternal health, better preventive care
We’ve been tracking the rates of uninsured children for more than a decade now, and after reaching an all-time low in 2016 nationwide, the number started going in the wrong direction over the past three years. From 2016 to 2019 approximately 726,000 more children became uninsured. The report we released today looks more closely at…
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Once Upon a Time in North Carolina: CHIP Health Services Initiative Funds Early Literacy Promotion as Part of Well-Child Care
by Emma Sandoe, Anna Miller-Fitzwater, Donna Cohen Ross Once Upon a Time So many well-loved stories of early childhood begin with the words “once upon a time” and go on to tell fairy tales of fantastic adventure. Here in North Carolina, we are excited to share our own early childhood story—one that is certainly adventurous and promises…
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Biden Administration Withdraws Medicaid Work Requirements Guidance and More
President Biden was quoted last week as saying that he was not watching the impeachment trial because he had work to do. On Friday afternoon, February 12th, it was clear that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), now under new management, was doing a great deal of work to rollback a signature policy…
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Mississippi Joins the Finish Line Network
The Georgetown University Center for Children and Families (CCF) is excited to formally welcome the Mississippi Center for Justice (MCJ) to the Finish Line network. The Finish Line project is a nationwide initiative of the David & Lucile Packard Foundation to support state-based policy and advocacy organizations that are leading efforts to make advances in…
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Executive Director Joan Alker sits down with Georgetown University Provost Bob Groves
Executive Director Joan Alker recently sat down with Georgetown University Provost Bob Groves to discuss the history of the Center for Children and Families, and how our work has grown and adapted to expand and improve access to high-quality health care for our nation’s children and families. Listen now to hear more about our mission,…
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Child Medicaid Enrollment Grew by 10% during the Pandemic in 2020
The chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, recently explained that the official unemployment statistics are too low, and that unemployment was closer to 10% in January. With the pandemic still raging and economic conditions looking very troubling, Congress is considering a COVID relief package with some important Medicaid provisions – my colleague Edwin Park…
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House Energy and Commerce Committee Reconciliation Legislation Would Spur Medicaid Expansion and Promote Maternal Health
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has unveiled its portion of the House COVID-19 relief reconciliation bill, with a markup of the Committee’s recommendations scheduled for Thursday, February 11, 2021. Several of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s reconciliation provisions strengthen Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), including provisions to encourage states to finally…
