Research & Reports
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Momentum Builds as Diverse Group of States Receive Exchange Establishment Grants
By Joe Touschner In addition to the package of proposed rules it released on August 12, HHS also announced the award of more than $185 million in grants to help states develop their exchanges. The federal funds will support state efforts to strengthen information technology systems, analyze insurance markets, develop consumer assistance capacity, and design…
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New Transparency Rules Will Help Consumers Compare Health Insurance Plans
We got some good news last week from the Administration – new rules for individual and group health plans that require them to disclose critical information about their benefits and out-of-pocket costs. For many of us, this is sort of “ho-hum” news because our employer pretty much makes the decisions about what health plan to…
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Outreach Push Continues to Cover Eligible Children in Medicaid and CHIP
In one of those competitions where you wish all the teams could win, CMS was limited to choosing the best of the best in a second round of $40 million in grants for Medicaid and CHIP outreach, enrollment and retention activities. In announcing the grants, friends at CMS pointed to the olympic success in Oregon as strong…
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Fulfilling the Promise of 2014: Aligning and Simplifying Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment for Children and Parents
Simplification and alignment of policies for children in Medicaid and CHIP have helped states fill the gap in private insurance and achieve record levels of coverage for 90% of our nation’s children. These lessons are carried forward in the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of coverage through Medicaid and the Exchanges. The ACA envision a customer-friendly,…
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ACA Propels States to Adopt Best Practices in Simplification and Alignment
and Jennifer Mezey, National Women’s Law Center Simplification and alignment of policies for children in Medicaid and CHIP have helped states fill the gap in private insurance and achieve record levels of coverage for 90% of our nation’s children. These lessons are carried forward in the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) expansion of coverage through Medicaid…
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Affordable Care Act Preventive Services are Good News for Women and Children
By Jennifer Mezey, National Women’s Law Center In a significant victory for women and girls, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced this week that all new insurance plans would be required to cover a wide range of preventive services aimed at women’s health – without cost sharing — starting in the first…
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Winners and Losers in State Budget Debates
By Tara Mancini I recently blogged about the way Medicaid has been affected in state budgets and concluded that while the program may incur more cuts, the future outlook is somewhat hopeful due to expected decreases in enrollment and rebounding state revenues. However, an in depth analysis on state budget cuts by the Center on…
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Health Reform is Working – Proof is in the Family Stories
By Jeff Tieman, Catholic Health Association Bryce Dixon, a 24-year old dairy farmer in Cosby, Missouri near the Kansas border, suffers from ankylosing spondylitis, a type of arthritis that primarily affects the spine. This condition causes debilitating swelling of the joints and feet, as well as autoimmune deficiencies. Bryce requires twice monthly injections of a…
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Just Getting Started…
By Jocelyn Guyer As more details emerge on the debt ceiling deal, one thing is becoming more and more clear – we are just getting started. In the months and years ahead, we can expect to see a continuation of the deeply ideological debate over the role of government in the United States that has…
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Time Is Ripe for Advocates to Weigh In on Exchanges
By Joel Ferber, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri One of the most important ways that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will improve insurance coverage for Americans is through the development of state health insurance exchanges. So far in 2011, ten states have enacted legislation to set up a state-based exchange while eight others have passed…
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Debt-Ceiling Compromise Kicks Medicaid Fight Down the Road
By Katherine Howitt, Community Catalyst Yesterday, the president signed a bill that ended months of intense negotiations over lifting the country’s debt-ceiling. But for the fate of Medicaid – and the millions of seniors, people living with disabilities, and low-income children who rely on the program – the negotiations are just beginning. What’s the deal? In…
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National Children’s Groups Express Concerns About Utah’s Waiver Request
By Joe Touschner We’ve pointed out the flaws in Utah’s request for a Medicaid waiver in a previous blog post But we wanted to call your attention to them once again since today we submitted a letter to federal officials voicing the concerns of many national groups. Thanks to all of you who joined us in…
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GAO Looks At Access to Care for Children Covered by Medicaid & CHIP
By Wesley Prater The GAO recently released a report on access to care for children covered by Medicaid and CHIP. The researchers surveyed specialty care physicians and rural and urban area primary care physicians to examine Medicaid and CHIP enrolled children’s access to both primary and specialty care. The GAO report, required under CHIPRA, also looked…
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First Focus Calls for Greater Investment in Children at Children’s Budget Summit
(Editor’s Note: This week, more than 300 children’s advocates, White House staff, Members of Congress, and researchers gathered for the third national Children’s Budget Summit hosted by First Focus. The summit drew attention to the overall declining share of the federal budget dedicated to programs that benefit children, at a time when children need support more…
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Some Good News in a Tough Year: Oregon’s Child Un-Insurance Rate Cut in Half
By Robin Christian, Children First for Oregon In this time of economic uncertainty and political division, last week brought us some welcome good news in Oregon. According to the Oregon Health Authority, the number of uninsured children has dropped dramatically in less than two years – from 11.3% to 5.6% – thanks to the affordable,…
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Keeping on Track: California Continues to Move Forward on Health Insurance Exchange
(Editor’s Note: In an effort to keep our readers up to speed on what’s happening on the development of state-based health insurance exchanges, we are checking in periodically with states that are moving forward. This month, we visit our friends in sunny California.) By Nicette Short (Children Now) and Kathleen Hamilton (The Children’s Partnership) on…
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When Can States Impose Copayments for Non-Emergency Use of ERs?
By Wesley Prater We have been hearing that more states are looking to use copayments to deter non-emergency use of the emergency room for low-income families, so it’s probably a good idea to discuss what the federal rules are and how some states have already been dealing with this issue. In an effort to try…
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They Got it Right — Finally
By Martha Heberlein The last time you heard from me on state budgets, I was on my soapbox about how the NASBO numbers are frequently taken out of context. For those of you who have missed my ongoing exasperation, here’s a quick recap. When citing statistics about Medicaid in state budgets, it is often misleadingly…
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Medicaid has Responded Successfully to Economic Downturn
By Tara Mancini As our readers know, Medicaid is a public insurance program financed jointly by states and the federal government to assist low-income individuals and families in obtaining health insurance. Using state specific formulas known as FMAP, the federal government provides at least $1 in matching funds for every $1 spent by states. During…
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Setting the Record Straight: Medicaid Is Cost Effective
(Editor’s Note: This blog originally appeared as an op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune in response to statements made at the Senate Finance Committee field hearing on Medicaid held in Salt Lake City this week.) By Lincoln Nehring, Voices for Utah Children For nearly 50 years Medicaid has provided cost-effective, high-quality health coverage to Utah’s…