Blog
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Detention or Separation: Administration Sets False Choice for Families
The legal parameters around immigration and detention have been hotly debated in the past few weeks. I turned to the experts in immigration law for the answer, and here’s what I learned. The Administration has falsely asserted that the law requires them to separate children from their families, but there is no such requirement. As…
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Medicaid Expansion Brings Improvements in Coverage and Utilization to Rural CHC Patients
We previously blogged on research showing that the Medicaid expansion helps keep rural hospitals open and that the Medicaid expansion disproportionately benefited rural communities. We came to a similar conclusion in our own research when we analyzed Medicaid coverage in small towns and rural America. We found that the rate of uninsured adults in expansion…
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New Conservative ACA Repeal Plan Would Likely Make Millions Uninsured
On June 19, a coalition of conservative think tanks unveiled a very brief outline of their plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Like similar 2017 repeal proposals from Senators Cassidy and Graham, the Health Care Choices Proposal would convert funding for the Medicaid expansion and marketplace subsidies into block grants for states. The…
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New Data Show Progress Covering Uninsured Children Stalled
I previously wrote about the growing gap between the rate of uninsured adults living in non-expansion states and expansion states. Next, I am analyzing the rate of uninsured children using the same data source, the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). We are anxiously waiting for the release of the American Community Survey in the fall…
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Preliminary CBO Analysis Finds Medicaid Doing Far Better than Medicare in Addressing Rising Cost of Specialty Drugs
Last week, I wrote about how data from the recent Medicare Trustees report show the highly effective Medicaid drug rebate program continues to produce substantially larger rebates from drug manufacturers than private insurers in Medicare Part D do. Now, new preliminary data from an analysis conducted by the Congressional Budget Office similarly finds that Medicaid…
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MACPAC Report Recommends Sound Improvements to Medicaid Drug Rebate Program
On June 15, the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) issued its June 2018 Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP. The MACPAC report included recommendations for two sound, albeit modest, improvements to the highly effective Medicaid drug rebate program which could lower state and federal Medicaid prescription drug costs: Prevent manufacturers of…
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Doctors, Patients and Many Others Voice Strong Objections to Florida’s Plan to End Retroactive Medicaid Coverage
Florida recently submitted a Section 1115 Medicaid waiver request to eliminate 90-day retroactive coverage for everyone in Florida’s Medicaid program, except children and pregnant women. As we wrote in our joint comments, this is a bad idea that will expose families to medical debt and providers to higher uncompensated care costs. There is absolutely no…
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Plan on Opioid Crisis is Missing a Proven Strategy that Could Double Number of Those Getting Treatment
A June 11 press release headlined: “CMS leverages Medicaid Program to combat the Opioid crisis,” touts the Trump Administration’s commitment to addressing the growing problem of opioid addiction. In the press release, Secretary Azar is quoted as saying: “Today’s announcement reflects the Trump Administration and HHS’s commitment to helping states use Medicaid to support treatment for…
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Medicaid Plays a Critical Role in Caring for Infants Exposed to Opioids or Other Drugs In Utero
The opioid crisis in American affects more than individuals suffering from the disease of addiction or substance use disorder. The crisis is hard on their families as demonstrated by the rise in the number of children suffering from neglect and abuse leading to their placement in foster care as a result of opioid and other…
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CMS Guidance on Opioid Response Offers Insights into Using Technology to Address Social Determinants of Health
Recognizing the importance of technology in health care, the federal government provides a 90% match for development of Medicaid eligibility and claims payment systems, as well as the advancement of Health Information Technology (HIT) that supports the exchange of health information and adoption of electronic health records (EHR). Of note, HIT enhanced funding expires in…
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What South Dakota’s Medicaid Waiver Application Doesn’t Tell You
South Dakota is in the process of applying for a Section 1115 waiver that will allow it to impose a work requirement on very poor parents in two counties, Minnehaha and Pennington, for five years, with the option to expand to other counties. The state Medicaid agency posted the application for public comment on May…
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Federal Investment in Children: Why Capping Medicaid Would Make a Bad Situation Worse
Not that you needed another reason that capping federal Medicaid payments to states would be an unmitigated disaster for children and families. But since the proposal is alive and well in some quarters—notably the President’ FY 2019 Budget—it’s worth marshaling as many as possible. Here’s another one, from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The…
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Incentivizing Healthy Behaviors in Medicaid is Hard To Do
A new report from researchers from Duke University sparked my interest as I have not delved into the recent research on this issue for some time. Some years ago, I looked closely at Florida’s efforts in this regard which were ineffective and administratively costly. Duke’s new comprehensive study concluded that “We do not have enough…
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“Pain & Profit:” How Not to Do Medicaid Managed Care
We know that CMS Administrator Seema Verma doesn’t think Medicaid should cover “able-bodied” adults. But she does believe that coverage of the “society’s most vulnerable citizens” is the right thing for Medicaid to do. In her major policy address to state Medicaid directors last November, she opened with the stories of Richard, a para-pelagic, and…
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New Medicare Trustees Report Continues to Show Greater Effectiveness of Medicaid Drug Rebate Program Compared to Medicare Part D
As I’ve previously written, the Medicaid drug rebate program is very effective. It requires drug manufacturers to provide sizable rebates that significantly lower federal and state Medicaid prescription drug costs while ensuring access to needed medications for tens of millions of low-income beneficiaries. Last week, the Medicare Trustees issued their latest annual report on the…
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Disparities exist in children’s coverage by race/ethnicity, income and maternal health
[Editor’s Note: For the most up-to-date data on children’ health coverage by race and ethnicity, see our current snapshot.] CCF recently updated our Snapshot of Children’s Coverage by Race and Ethnicity. The updated fact sheet includes the percentage of children residing in each state by race and ethnicity and the percentage of children covered by…
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Medicaid Scorecard Misses the Mark on State and Federal Accountability
With a lot of fanfare but not much input from experts and stakeholders, CMS revealed its new “Medicaid scorecard” that received mixed reviews this week. CMS Administrator Seema Verma’s reluctance to talk about how the scorecard may be used in the future added suspense to speculation about the potential for CMS to use the tool…
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New Federal CHIP Law Will Protect Florida’s Children
The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is extremely important to Florida as it helps about 345,000 Florida children get the health care they need to support their healthy development and succeed in school. CHIP has also worked hand-in-hand with Medicaid to reduce Florida’s child uninsured rate to an all time low of 6.2 percent in…
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South Carolina’s Medicaid Proposal Will Harm Children and Families
South Carolina is the latest state to consider imposing a work requirement on parents receiving Medicaid. While there’s no formal proposal yet, officials have outlined their plans in a concept paper that raises as many questions as it answers. In a report we released today, we outline the problems with imposing a work requirement in…
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Congress Proposes Fix to Provide Medicaid for Former Foster Youth Up to Age 26
At long last, a fix in the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid coverage for former foster youth up to age 26 is back on the table in Congress. I last wrote about this issue almost three years ago, so it has taken far too long for Congress to correct a technical error in the drafting of…
