Research & Reports
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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…
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Medicaid and its Role for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN): A Family Perspective
The nation’s children have a lot at stake in the ongoing federal and state level debates over Medicaid’s role in deficit reduction efforts. Children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) are most vulnerable to Medicaid cuts because so many rely on it. Approximately 14% (10.2 million) of children meet the criteria of having…
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HHS Proposes Initial Exchange Rules
By Joe Touschner Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, we’ve known that state exchanges are a big part of the vision for reforming and expanding health coverage. Although that vision may have started about a bit hazy, it’s coming into sharper focus. State policymakers have been passing laws and taking other action to…
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Children’s Health Will Pay the Price If Federal Costs Are Shifted to the States
By Kristen Golden Testa, The Children’s Partnership and 100% Campaign As policy makers in Washington DC work to reduce the federal budget deficit, we should all be watching carefully where the budget ax swings, especially when it nears our children. Luckily, California is raising the red flag when proposed federal cuts result in more state…
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New Resources on Medicaid Managed Care
By Martha Heberlein States may choose to adopt managed care in Medicaid for a number of reasons. For example, they may be interested in improving care management and coordination. Others may wish to gain more predictability in spending or increase accountability for access to providers and quality of care. No matter what the reason (or…
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Appeals Court Rules Affordable Care Act Constitutional
This week, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Affordable Care Act as constitutional (including the key individual responsibility provision) infusing a large dose of rational thinking into the highly polarized world that surrounds the health reform law. In fact, the majority opinion used the word “rational” several times in rejecting the challenge by…
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KidsWell Campaign Launches Online Resource for Health Reform Implementation
By Kimberley Chin, Programme Executive, Atlantic Philanthropies State advocates face enormous challenges–shrinking resources, entrenched politics, an often disinterested press. Yet somehow, we manage to get it done.Just about every major federal policy initiative begins and ends at the state.It was the states that conceived of what became CHIP, launched the first health benefit exchanges with…
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Saving Money, Saving Lives: Maryland Paves the Way on Payment Reform
As policymakers across the country look to balance their budgets, some are turning to Medicaid, recycling the same harmful policies they’ve used year-after-year: eliminating coverage for vulnerable Americans, restricting critical benefits like prescription drug coverage, imposing premiums on those who can’t afford them, and slashing already-low provider reimbursement rates. Community Catalyst and Georgetown University Health…