Say Ahhh!
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The ACA is Helping Moms this Mother’s Day
In the U.S., 15.7% of mothers are uninsured. That’s 5.9 million mothers or one out of every six , according to new study from the Urban Institute. We care about all parents but with Mother’s Day right around the corner, we are focusing on moms for now. In How Are Moms Faring under the Affordable…
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Covered California Raises the Bar on Reducing Health Disparities
By Cary Sanders, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, and Mike Odeh, Children Now At Covered California’s latest April Board meeting, Executive Director Peter Lee declared: “We are raising the bar not just for California but for the nation.” Mr. Lee was referring to the bold initiatives adopted by the Covered California board that they expect will…
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Major New Rule Seeks to Modernize & Improve Quality of Medicaid Managed Care
Earlier this week, CMS released the much-anticipated final rule on Medicaid and CHIP managed care. The rule marks the first update to Medicaid managed care rules in over a decade, and it comes at a time when more and more Medicaid beneficiaries are covered under managed care arrangements. Three-quarters of children, and virtually all adults…
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New Study Shows Medicaid Expansion Reduces Household Debt
Medicaid expansion has led to declines in the rate of uninsurance, improved access to care for enrollees, and financial savings for states. A new study points to an additional benefit to newly eligible Medicaid enrollees: lowering debt. Prior studies indicate that Medicaid reduces medical debt, but a new study examined the impact of Medicaid expansion…
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CMS Releases Final Managed Care Rule for Medicaid, CHIP
Many children and families rely on Medicaid or CHIP as their source of health care coverage and a growing number of them are connecting with that coverage through managed care plans. How managed care is delivered has a significant impact on the health and well-being of children and families. In fact, three-quarters of children enrolled in…
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Indiana Study Documents Unmet Need for Transportation to Care
By Marsha Simon, PhD. Even with the federal government’s official evaluation forthcoming, Indiana’s evaluation of its waiver to drop non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) benefits is telling. The evaluation found a significant number of individuals on Medicaid are missing appointments because they lack transportation. According to survey results, 6 percent of Medicaid recipients under the waiver…
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Too Soon to Replicate Indiana’s Medicaid Waiver
By Jesse Cross-Call, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Several states are considering adopting features of the federal waiver through which Indiana has expanded Medicaid — such as setting up accounts modeled on health savings accounts for each beneficiary, delaying coverage until beneficiaries pay premiums tied to their incomes, and ending coverage for some beneficiaries…
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CHIR Expert Testifies Before U.S. House Education & Workforce Committee about Innovations in Health Care
By Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms Sabrina Corlette of the Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms joined a panel of witnesses before the Subcommittee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions of the Education & Workforce Committee to discuss “Innovations in Health Care: Exploring Free-Market Solutions for a Healthy Workforce.” Other panelists at…
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Video Highlights of Hearing on “Flint Water Crisis: Impacts and Lessons Learned”
On Wednesday, April 13, Georgetown CCF’s Executive Director Joan Alker testified before the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee on lessons emerging from the Flint water crisis. Here are the highlights of the hearing. Joan Alker explains the vital role of Medicaid in ameliorating harm in times of crisis… and how Medicaid can help meet…
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HHS Study Shows Benefits of Shopping and Subsidies, but Costs Still a Concern
By Sean Miskell As insurers selling on the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Marketplaces begin to file their 2017 rates with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), concerns over proposed increases will once again emerge. But a report released by the HHS Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) demonstrates that behind the headlines…
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New Tools Raise Awareness about Developmental Screenings in Pennsylvania
By Joan Benso, President and CEO, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children In the past year, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children (PPC) has collaborated with professionals from across the commonwealth to understand the state of developmental screening. PPC’s overarching organizational mission is to make Pennsylvania one of the top 10 states to be a child and to raise…
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Responding to the Flint Michigan Water Crisis: What is the Role of Medicaid?
Today I had the opportunity to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee on lessons emerging from the Flint water crisis. I wish the hearing hadn’t been necessary but I hope Flint is a wake up call to reexamine our nation’s policy on lead and children’s health. I am concerned not just about…
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Testimony for Hearing on “The Flint Water Crisis: Impacts and Lessons Learned”
The following prepared remarks were delivered by Joan Alker on April 13, 2016 before the Subcommittee on Health and Subcommittee on the Environment of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce for the hearing “Flint Water Crisis: Impacts and Lessons Learned.” Her views do not represent those of Georgetown University. My name is Joan Alker, and…
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Missouri’s Health Reform Assisters Triumph In Court
By Emily Curran, Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms Health reform advocates experienced a win last month, when a federal court in Missouri struck down three sections of a recently enacted state law that interfered with the ability of consumer assistance personnel to help Missourians understand their health insurance options and enroll in coverage.…
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Post ACA, 3 Communities Respond to a Shifting Health Care Landscape for Newly Insured
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has proven successful in meeting one of the law’s primary goals: to extend coverage to more Americans. Nearly 13 million people signed up for marketplace coverage in the 3rd open enrollment period, contributing to a dramatic reduction in the number of uninsured. But what has that coverage meant for helping…
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New Brief Highlights States’ Experiences in Implementing Ex Parte Renewals in Medicaid and CHIP
Eligible children and families losing Medicaid or CHIP coverage at renewal for procedural or paperwork reasons has been a persistent problem. As Harvard researcher Dr. Benjamin Sommers has aptly noted, poor retention rather than poor take-up is the main reason why millions of children eligible for Medicaid and CHIP are uninsured. Dr. Sommers’ research has…
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NASHP: State Insurance Commissions are Children’s Coverage Partners Too
While Medicaid and CHIP are the primary sources of affordable health coverage for lower income children, it’s important not to lose site of the fact that more than half of all kids rely on the private insurance market for their health coverage. The National Academy for State Health Policy recently held a webinar exploring opportunities for states…
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How Cuts to Safety Net Hospitals Impact the Uninsured in a State that Rejected Medicaid Expansion Funding
by Miriam Harmatz, Florida Legal Services Much has been written—from blogs to briefs—documenting the tremendous positive impacts of Medicaid expansion. Less well-documented are the negative impacts that flow from rejecting expansion. Obviously, non-expansion states fail to reap the profound benefits of expansion. But they are not just failing to move forward with the expansion’s huge…
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President Obama’s Budget Takes State-Level Debates over Surprise Out-of-Network Bills to National Policymakers
by Sandy Ahn, Jack Hoadley and Sabrina Corlette of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms, originally posted on Health Affairs Blog, March 22, 2016 President Obama’s final budget proposal was met with little fanfare, but a lot of political opposition. The President, however, put forth one legislative proposal that deserves attention. It is aimed at helping…
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It’s Time to Shed More Light on State Medicaid Quality
by Jon Peacock and Sashi Gregory, Wisconsin Council on Children and Families Last week was Sunshine Week, the annual nationwide celebration of access to public information. Now that the celebrating is over, perhaps it’s a good time to bring up an area where Wisconsin needs to let in considerably more sunshine – health care quality measures…