Research & Reports
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Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015: Summary of Key Provisions Impacting Children
On April 16th, President Obama signed into law the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), now Public Law 114-10, which provides new federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through 2017 and permanently adjusts the flawed Medicare physician payment formula to prevent cuts in reimbursements to Medicare providers. It also extends…
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Many Working Parents and Families in Florida Would Benefit from Closing the Coverage Gap
The U.S. has made significant progress in decreasing rates of uninsurance for parents and adults. However, many low-income families in Florida still struggle to obtain health coverage. In 2013 (prior to the Affordable Care Act’s major coverage provisions), there were over 3.9 million people living without health insurance coverage in Florida, accounting for 8.5 percent (1…
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Federal “Maintenance of Effort” Protections Help Kids Maintain Health Coverage Amid Tough State Budget Climates
The Children’s Heath Insurance Program (CHIP) serves more than 8.3 million children in the United States.1 CHIP is jointly administered and financed by states and the federal government, but at the end of federal fiscal year 2015 (September 30), no new federal funding for CHIP will be available. Lawmakers from both parties have introduced plans…
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“Stairstep” Children Moved from CHIP to Medicaid Receive Better, More Affordable Coverage
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) aligned coverage for more than half a million low-income, school-aged children in 22 states that were previously covered under different programs. Prior to 2014, state Medicaid programs were required to cover children of different age groups at different minimum income eligibility thresholds. Young children under age six with family incomes up…
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Making Kids Wait for Coverage Makes No Sense in a Reformed Health System
Waiting periods make no sense when the goal is to create near universal access to continuous coverage and families are penalized for not having insurance. Given the administrative complexity of transitioning children between coverage options, it is virtually impossible to ensure that they will not face a gap in coverage. To this end, 20 of…
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Utah Parents and Families Would Benefit from Medicaid Expansion
Working parents would receive significant help with health insurance costs if Utah moves forward with Governor Gary Herbert’s Healthy Utah plan, according to new research by Utah Voices for Children and Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families. More than two-thirds (68%) of the low-income uninsured parents that could benefit from the Healthy Utah plan…
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OE2: A Round Up of Questions from Consumer Assisters During the Second Year of the Affordable Care Act
As part of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded project providing technical assistance to navigators and assisters in five states with federally run marketplaces, a joint team of experts from Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms and the Center for Children and Families have received a broad range of questions since open enrollment began…
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Getting MAGI Right: A Primer on Differences that Apply to Medicaid and CHIP
Although Medicaid, CHIP, and tax subsidies in the marketplaces share a common method for determining eligibility – known as MAGI – there are several exceptions that apply only to specific circumstances in Medicaid and CHIP. These exceptions, along with significant changes in Medicaid/CHIP eligibility, pre- and post-ACA, add complexity to the implementation of MAGI, both…
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Modern Era Medicaid: Findings from a 50-State Survey of Eligibility, Enrollment, Renewal, and Cost-Sharing Policies in Medicaid and CHIP as of January 2015
One year into implementation, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has broadened Medicaid’s base of coverage for the low-income population and accelerated state efforts to move from outdated, paper-driven enrollment processes to a new modernized enrollment experience. Given the fast-paced policy environment leading up to when the ACA’s key coverage provisions went into effect on January 1, 2014, an abbreviated report based…
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Two New Reports Focus on Arizona Children Who Lost CHIP Coverage and Lessons Learned for Future
Fourteen thousand children in Arizona lost their health insurance at the end of January 2014 when the state ended its KidsCare program for low-income children, becoming the only state in the country without an active Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Two new reports released by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families today focus…
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Summary: Governors’ Letters to Congress on the Future of CHIP
On July 29, 2014, leaders of the Senate Finance Committee and House Committee on Energy and Commerce sent a letter to all 50 governors asking for their input on the future of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The letter asked six questions, including whether or not governors support extending CHIP funding and any recommendations…
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Children’s Health Coverage in Florida: Fewer Uninsured But Challenges Lie Ahead
Florida’s rate of uninsured children has declined in recent years, though it remains considerably higher than that of the nation and other southeastern states. This encouraging trend could be disrupted, however, by policy decisions in 2015 that could negatively impact as many as 400,000 children. This brief examines why Florida has one of the highest…
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Policy Brief: Resolving Enrollment Conflicts as States Expand Medicaid
I wrote about this issue a couple months ago here on the blog and there was enough interest we’ve turned that piece into a policy brief. Basically, states moving towards expanding Medicaid have to deal with the fact that significant numbers of people who will now be eligible for Medicaid are already enrolled in health plans…
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Renewing Coverage Through the Federal Marketplace
This brief describes how consumers will update their eligibility for financial assistance and renew enrollment in a QHP through the federal marketplace. It’s a smart choice for consumers to update their information and compare QHPs, which includes new plan choices in many areas. However, most consumers can keep the level of premium tax credits and cost-sharing…
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Hispanic Children’s Coverage: Steady Progress, but Disparities Remain
The United States has cut the rate of uninsured children in half since 1997, due, in large part, to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). A combination of children’s eligibility expansions through these two programs, as well as state and federal efforts to conduct outreach and simplify enrollment in both programs, has led…
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Progress for Uninsured Children Slowing
Our nation has made historic progress covering children thanks to CHIP and Medicaid, but progress is slowing just as federal and state policymakers face important choices that will determine whether that success continues or reverses. Read this year’s 50-state report on uninsured kids, “Children’s Coverage at a Crossroads: Progress Slows.”
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Children’s Coverage at a Crossroads: Progress Slows
In 2013, for the first time in recent history, the uninsured rate for children did not significantly decline from the previous year, remaining just above seven percent. Yet in the past five years, the number of uninsured children declined substantially from just under 6.9 million to just over 5.2 million in large part due to…
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Overview of Immigrant Eligibility Policies for Health Insurance Affordability Programs
The Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families, in partnership with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and the National Immigration Law Center Presented in a Series of Assister Webinars Focusing on Coverage Eligibility and Application Process for Families that Include Immigrants sponsored by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Webinar 1: September…
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A First Look at Uninsured Rate for Children Since Major Affordable Care Act Provisions Took Effect
Georgetown University CCF researchers teamed up with researchers at the Urban Institute to take a first look at how the Affordable Care Act is impacting the uninsured rate for children. The high level data indicate that, so far, there has been no detectable change nationally, although children’s uninsured rates remained at historically low levels. The…
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Medicaid’s Role in Improving Early Childhood Outcomes
Today, more than 27 million children are covered through Medicaid and CHIP. For the youngest children, Medicaid plays a critical role: More than 45 percent of children under age six are publicly insured. Nearly one in five Medicaid beneficiaries in the U.S. nationwide is a child under age six. Medicaid’s requirement that children receive strong,…
