X

Say Ahhh!

  • Advancing Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health — One Relationship at a Time

    CCFadmin

    As early childhood policymakers and advocates, we know that early relationships matter – a lot. We know that babies’ earliest relationships and experiences shape the architecture of the brain. Babies who engage with responsive, consistent and nurturing caregivers are more likely to have strong emotional health, or, infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH). Most…

  • Will Congress Leave Children Out in the Cold?

    Guest

    The first snow fell in Washington this past weekend. As I felt the chill in the air, I thought about the millions of children who get their health coverage under the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). For many of these children, the mercury is about to plummet. Federal CHIP funding expired September 30, but here…

  • Tracking Medicaid Work Requirement Proposals

    Olivia Pham

    We here at Georgetown University CCF are closely tracking Medicaid Section 1115 demonstration waiver proposals as states attempt to create new barriers to coverage. There are many troubling proposals pending, but one of the most common is the imposition of a work or community service requirement as a condition of Medicaid coverage. As a reference,…

  • What Does the Continuing Resolution Mean for CHIP?

    Kelly Whitener

    I wish I could say that the Continuing Resolution (CR) passed yesterday by the House and Senate extended CHIP funding for five more years as both parties in both chambers have agreed to do, but sadly, it does not. The main mission of the CR is to avoid a government shutdown, at least for the…

  • No Set Federal Notice Period for CHIP – States Decide How Much Notice to Give Families Losing Coverage

    Tricia Brooks

    According to a new brief by the Kaiser Family Foundation, at least five states (Colorado, Connecticut, Texas, Virginia, and Utah) plan to end coverage for children enrolled in separate CHIP programs by January 31, 2017. One of those states (Colorado) has started to notify families that their children may lose coverage if Congress does not…

  • Research Update: Checking Up on Health Care Utilization and Providers After the ACA’s Medicaid Expansion

    Karina Wagnerman

    This week, I am checking up on Medicaid research regarding health care utilization and providers. There is evidence that the expansion increased access and utilization of health care, led to an increase in smoking cessation, and increased the share of patients that physicians saw covered through Medicaid. Health Services Research’s Impact of Recent Medicaid Expansions…

  • Editorial Boards Continue Calling for Action on CHIP

    Phyllis Jordan

    Newspaper editorial boards have been keeping up the steady drumbeat in their call for Congress to renew CHIP, which expired September 30. In Maine, the Bangor Daily News questioned “Republican priorities” in an editorial published December 8. Holding up funding for children’s health while searching for an offset would be especially cruel as Republican lawmakers…

  • Research: Medicaid Expansions Help Parents, Children and Families Get Coverage, Afford Care, Reduce Debt

    Adam Searing

    Recently Seema Verma, the Trump Administration’s director of Medicare and Medicaid, said that Medicaid provides “a card without care.” This line echoes state critics of Medicaid like Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin who recently said: “One of the most remarkable lies that has perpetrated in recent years in the healthcare community in America is that expanded…

  • Medicaid and Work: How the CMS Administrator Has it Completely Upside Down

    Andy Schneider

    Work has a lot going for it. It allows people to support themselves and their families, it is a source of self-esteem, and — in a safe and non-predatory workplace — it is good for one’s health and well-being.  In fact, encouraging work is one of the reasons that the Medicaid program is so important…

  • Congressional Leaders Signal They Intend to Kick the Can Down the Road on CHIP

    Joan Alker

    It appears that Congress is planning to kick the can further down the road rather than finally approve the bipartisan plan to fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program this week. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Walden has signaled that he wants to allow CMS to shift unused CHIP funding (currently reserved for states that are…

  • Kansas and Mississippi Medicaid Waivers Race to the Bottom: Most Vulnerable Families Targeted by Harmful Proposal

    Joan Alker

    Medicaid is a critical part of health insurance coverage in the US, covering millions of children and their parents, seniors and individuals with disabilities.  More than half of states have taken the Affordable Care Act option to expand Medicaid coverage to more low-income parents and childless adults. But some states are trying to move in…

  • Want kids to get preventive health care? Make sure their parents have health coverage.

    Elisabeth Wright Burak

    If we’ve learned anything this year, it’s that we can’t take success covering children for granted. A lapse in CHIP funding (ahem!) or cuts to Medicaid could easily put our nation back in a place where rates of uninsured kids reverse course. But even as we work to keep the coverage we have, we also…

  • This Thanksgiving I Am Grateful For My Child’s Health Insurance

    Joan Alker

    It has been a long year here in Washington with many threats, twists, and turns for those who rely on publicly funded health coverage for their families – that is 40 percent of all children in the United States. In my role here at the Center for Children and Families, I often speak with reporters…

  • Turning Back the Clock on Medicaid Would Undo Progress Nation Has Achieved in Reducing Uninsured Rate

    Andy Schneider

    Last week, CMS Administrator Seema Verma gave a major policy address to the National Association of Medicaid Directors. She made two things crystal clear. First, she cares about protecting “deserving” Americans: “…our safety net should be stronger to ensure that no deserving Americans fall through the cracks.” Second, she does not believe that the Medicaid…

  • Research Update: Medicaid Pulls Americans Out Of Poverty

    Karina Wagnerman

    This week, I am reading a study on one of my favorite topics: the poverty rate. In 2016, about 13% of the population lived in poverty. When broken out by age, children continue to have the highest poverty rate (18% under age 18, 12% ages 18 to 64, and 9% 65 and over). Children represent…

  • New Research: Medicaid Expansions Increase Coverage More in Rural Areas than in Urban Areas

    Adam Searing

    Rural areas and small towns across America have special problems accessing health care. Our colleagues at the University of North Carolina’s Rural Health Program have tracked the increasing numbers of rural hospital closures around the country. The Rural Health Information Hub is also a great resource on the opportunities and challenges for rural health delivery…

  • Report: Children in Rural Communities More Likely to Rely on CHIP and Medicaid

    CCFadmin

    The challenges that students face in many rural places are staggering. Limited access to advanced coursework, medical care, food, and employment opportunities continue to daunt students in many rural communities. Poverty rates are also climbing. In 23 states, a majority of rural students live in low-income households; this is a noticeable uptick from 2013 when…

  • Kaiser Tracking Poll Shows CHIP Funding is Much Higher Priority than Tax Reform

    Cathy Hope

    The Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll was released today and it has good news for those who care about children’s health. While children’s advocates may feel that their messages about the need to extend funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) has not been getting through, this poll shows somebody has been listening to…

  • Trump Administration’s New Medicaid Waiver Policy Will Increase Number of Uninsured: Kentucky Likely to be First Approved

    Joan Alker

    I was in Kentucky last week where I spoke to an audience of health care providers and advocates about the success of the state’s Medicaid expansion and the giant step backwards its pending waiver proposal would be. I was relieved that the state’s pending waiver proposal wasn’t approved while I was there as my trip…

  • ACA Marketplace Sign-Ups Outpacing Last Year, Despite Sabotage

    CCFadmin

    The 2018 open enrollment period for Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace coverage is off to a fast start, with over 600,000 customers selecting plans in the first four days compared to 416,000 during the first five days of last year’s period. We don’t yet know what’s driving the increase and how signups during the open…