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  • Research Update: State Differences in Buprenorphine Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD)

    CCFadmin

    This week, I am reading a new study published by researchers at the Urban Institute on state variation in Medicaid prescriptions for buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder (OUD) from 2011 to 2018. The Urban Institute Health Policy Center’s State Variation in Medicaid Prescriptions for Opioid Use Disorder from 2011 to 2018 The study from the…

  • New Rule Nixes Protections for Detained Immigrant Children, Harming Their Health

    Kelly Whitener

    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. Last September, the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Health and Human Services (HHS) released a notice of proposed…

  • National Decline in Child Enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP Slows but Steep Declines Continue in Problem States

    Tricia Brooks

    In the first four months of 2019, overall child enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP dropped by 122,000 children with declines in 31 states offset by gains in 20 states. As noted in previous blogs and this report, the largest declines are occurring in a handful of states. States with the Largest Percentage Decline – In…

  • Utah’s Bad Medicaid Bet: Governor and Utah Legislators Relied on Trump Administration Promises that Didn’t Pan Out

    Adam Searing

    What a mess. After repealing the ballot initiative passed by a majority of Utah voters that offered more affordable health coverage through a simple Medicaid expansion, Utah’s Governor and legislature substituted a law that creates a very complex Medicaid plan aimed at only people with incomes under about $12,000 a year. As it turns out,…

  • Anne Dunkelberg Wins Bulldog of Year Award from Georgetown University CCF

    Joan Alker

    One of the main highlights of our annual conference is the presentation of the Bulldog of the Year award. The award recognizes an individual who best embodies the spirit of the Georgetown University mascot, Jack the Bulldog, through their tenacious efforts on behalf of children and families. This year we bestowed the honor on a true…

  • New Mexico: Some Good Waiver News for a Change

    Ellen Pinnes

    Those of us who follow Medicaid waiver activity around the country can feel that we’re being constantly assaulted by bad news. So here’s some good news to brighten your day:  instead of proposing burdensome requirements that limit access to Medicaid enrollment and services, New Mexico is planning to improve its section 1115 waiver – known…

  • SC Public Comments Show Opposition to Work Requirement and Support for Expansion

    Allexa Gardner

    Two months ago, South Carolina followed the example of five other non-expansion states and submitted a proposal to CMS to impose work reporting requirements targeted at low-income parents. Unlike the other non-expansion states, however, South Carolina’s waiver does propose an expansion of coverage from 67% FPL to 100% FPL. CCF recently updated our analysis of…

  • Medicaid Work Requirements: Another Win for Beneficiaries, Another Loss for CMS

    Andy Schneider

    CMS Administrator Seema Verma is visibly proud of her agency’s Medicaid and CHIP scorecard, which she claims has ushered in “a new era of accountability and transparency in Medicaid”.  The scorecard includes measures of, among other things, federal administrative accountability; one of those measures reports the percentage of Section 1115 demonstration applications that CMS approved…

  • Legislative Victory to Ensure Automatic Early Intervention Eligibility for Illinois’ Lead-Poisoned Children

    Alexis Bailey

    Lead poisoning is the most pervasive environmental health hazard affecting children. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are nearly half a million children ages 1-5 in the United States with blood lead levels (BLL) above 5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) — the reference value recommended by the CDC for initiation of public health actions,…

  • Research Update: New Study on Medicaid Fee Bump on Prenatal Care Utilization

    CCFadmin

    This week, I am reading a study finding that a temporary increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates for primary care in 2013-2014 increased utilization of prenatal care among expectant mothers, particularly among non-Hispanic Black/African American women.  The Maternal and Child Health Journal’s Effect of the Medicaid Primary Care Rate Increase on Prenatal Care Utilization Among Medicaid-Insured…

  • Senate Finance Committee Considers Bipartisan Bill to Lower Federal and State Medicaid Drug Costs

    Edwin Park

    Editor’s Note: The Senate Finance Committee reported the bill on July 25, 2019 (without substantive changes to its Medicaid provisions.) On Thursday, July 25, the Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to consider bipartisan drug pricing legislation (known as the Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act).  While much of the bill focuses on provisions related to Medicare…

  • CMS Guidance Spotlights Ways Medicaid Can Support Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services in Schools

    Candace Webb

    The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently released a Joint Informational Bulletin that offers a helpful roadmap to states and schools on the ways certain Medicaid authorities can help support school-based mental health and substance use disorder services for children and adolescents.  As…

  • Research Update: Medicaid Expansion Associated with Decrease in Cases of Reported Child Neglect

    CCFadmin

    This week, I am highlighting a study suggesting that Medicaid expansion was associated with reductions in number of reported cases of child neglect. This study builds on prior research finding that Medicaid expansion is associated with greater parental financial stability and access to mental health care. In this study, researchers compared reported cases of child…

  • MACPAC Releases FactSheet on CHIP Health Services Initiatives

    Tricia Brooks

    Not everyone knows that states are allowed to use a limited amount of CHIP funding to implement health services initiatives (HSIs) – activities that protect the public health, promote a state’s capacity to deliver public health services, or accomplish public health goals relating to improving the health of children, including children in Medicaid and CHIP.…

  • Call for Public Comments on Annual Review of the Core Sets of Health Quality Measures in Medicaid and CHIP

    Tricia Brooks

    Each year, a multi-stakeholder group is selected through a nomination process to review and make recommendations on the child and adult core sets of health care quality measures in Medicaid and CHIP. This year, I was pleased to participate as a member of the workgroup, which was facilitated by a great team at Mathematica. It’s…

  • New Study Finds Medicaid Per Capita Caps and Block Grants Would Lead to Deep Cuts to Children’s Coverage and Access

    Edwin Park

    Avalere Health issued a new study conducted for the Children’s Hospital Association, estimating how much a per capita cap or block grant could significantly cut federal Medicaid spending on children nationally and on a state-by-state basis, relative to current law.  The study models the impact of four illustrative per capita caps and block grants.  It…

  • Medicaid Work Requirements: Is Momentum Stalling?

    Joan Alker

    Last week marked the 18-month anniversary of CMS guidance urging states to apply for Section 1115 Medicaid waivers to impose work reporting requirements as a condition of eligibility. One day after issuing the guidance (January 12, 2018) CMS approved the first state, Kentucky, to go forward with work reporting requirements along with numerous other harmful…

  • CMS Administrator Verma Proposes to Repeal the Medicaid Access Rule

    Andy Schneider

    For the past two years, CMS Administrator Seema Verma has wanted to “rollback” the Medicaid Access Rule.  That’s the CMS regulation that implements the requirement in the Medicaid statute that rates paid to physicians and other providers be “sufficient” so that enough participate in Medicaid to give beneficiaries access to covered services.   In the…

  • Child Enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP Slips Again

    Tricia Brooks

    We continue to closely monitor the trends in child enrollment in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) following our report on the precipitous enrollment decline in 2018. As of March 2019, overall child enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP was down an additional 41k children in the first quarter of 2019. However, the national…