Research & Reports
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IOM Works to Define Process for Essential Health Benefits
By Joe Touschner Even as the House of Representatives takes time to re-debate the Affordable Care Act, many organizations are hard at work implementing the new law. Last week, an Institute of Medicine panel held a two day meeting to help develop recommendations on essential health benefits that will form the basis for state-based exchange…
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Florida’s Proposed Medicaid Long-Term Care Changes Raise Host of Questions About Impact
Florida’s 2011 Managed Care Legislation, HB 7107, established “Medicaid Managed Care,” a new statewide managed care program for all covered services. Two separate components are anticipated for the new program: the Florida Long-Term Care Managed Care program, slated for implementation first, and the Florida Managed Medical Assistance program, an expansion of the Medicaid pilot program…
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John Bouman Supports IL Revenue Package
During a lame duck session, the Illinois General Assembly approved a temporary increase in the state income tax along with a series of spending restrictions designed to bring financial stability to the state. The passage of the revenue package is the culmination of the efforts of the Responsible Budget Coalition, an unprecedented coalition of anti-poverty,…
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Block Grant No Solution for Rising Medicaid Costs
By Edwin Park, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities In the intensifying debate over cutting federal spending, troubling proposals to block-grant Medicaid or otherwise cap its funding are getting new attention. For example, Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), the new Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has already discussed block-granting Medicaid with some governors.…
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Holding Steady, Looking Ahead: Annual Findings of a 50-State Survey of Eligibility Rules, Enrollment and Renewal Procedures, and Cost Sharing Practices in Medicaid and CHIP, 2010-2011
Over the past year, as the nation’s attention was focused on the country’s economic problems and the debate over the passage of broader health care reform, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) continued to play their vital role of providing coverage to millions of people who otherwise lack affordable coverage options. In 2010,…
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Flags Flown at Half-Staff – ACA Repeal Vote Delayed
Our hearts go out to all the victims of Saturday’s tragedy in Tucson and we wish the injured a quick recovery. President Barack Obama ordered all U.S. flags lowered and asked all Americans to observe a moment of silence at 11 a.m. today. Flags should remain at half-staff through sunset on Friday, Jan. 14, 2011.…
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Ringing in 2011 by Celebrating Progress in Children’s Coverage
By Vikki Wachino, Director of Family and Children’s Health Programs Group, CMS The New Year began just a few days ago, and many of us are just winding down from the festivities. But, if you’re still hearing the sounds of revelry, it may be the states that are continuing to celebrate the CHIPRA performance bonuses…
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Medicaid for Minnesotans Means a Happy New Year
Christina Wessel, Minnesota Budget ProjectDeputy Director Minnesotans have great cause for celebrating in the New Year. This Wednesday, Minnesota’s new governor, Mark Dayton, will take immediate action to help some of the state’s most vulnerable residents access health care. The move will take advantage of a provision in the Affordable Care Act which allows Minnesota…
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New England Advocates Share Successful Strategies for Growing Children’s Coverage
By Eugene Lewit, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation A new report by the New England Alliance for Children Health (NEACH) tells an impressive advocacy success story. More importantly, it draws practical ideas from the advocates who made it happen, serving as a guide to advocacy strategies that work. As most regular Say Ahhh! readers…
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Medicaid Performance Bonuses Awarded
(Editor’s Note: This blog was originally posted on Huffington Post and Mom’s Rising.) By Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services For Amanda from Tigard, Oregon, one of the worst things about going without health insurance was worrying that something might happen to her son Jacob when she couldn’t afford a doctor. Jacob,…
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Insurers Revisit Decision to Abandon Child-Only Policies in California
By Jocelyn Guyer At CCF, things are starting to get very quiet as the Holiday Break approaches and I hadn’t planned on doing any more blogs this week, but this story from the Los Angeles Times is well worth highlighting. As a result of the fantastic work of California advocates and their allies in state government,…
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Let’s Have an “Adult Conversation” about Opting Out of Medicaid
By Anne Dunkelberg, Center for Public Policy Priorities, Texas Just last August, Texas advocates chuckled and sighed along with our Arizona colleagues when the Onion ran the headline, “Texas Vows to Reclaim Title of Most Regressive State from Arizona.” That satire piece included references to our Governor Rick Perry’s very real 2009 statements about the…
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Florida v. Sebelius – View from Pensacola
By Anne Swerlick, Florida Legal Services Last week I had a front row seat in Judge Vinson’s Pensacola federal courtroom where arguments were heard on cross motions for summary judgment in Florida v. Sebelius. In contrast to the rather modest number of spectators in the courtroom, there was literally an army of lawyers from all…
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Texas Secedes! And Other Takeaways from the Final NAIC Votes on ACA Implementation Issues
Yesterday the NAIC Executive Committee and Plenary had their final call for the year. They had a long agenda, including passing a Model State law to create an insurance Exchange and Model Laws to implement ACA’s early insurance reforms (such as elimination of pre-existing condition exclusions for children, dependent coverage up to age 26, and restrictions on…
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Unprecedented Results for Kids Coverage in Massachusetts: Lessons for the Nation
By Brian Rosman, Health Care for All Massachusetts This week Massachusetts officials released the latest data from their 2010 state insurance survey. The survey provided continued good news: overall, 98.1 percent of all Massachusetts residents have health coverage. This compares to a national insurance rate of around 83 percent. Remarkably, insurance coverage increased from 2009, despite…
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Rate Review: States Can Help Make Health Insurance More Affordable
Thirty-nine percent increase in California. Fifty-six percent increase in Michigan. Forty-seven percent increase in Connecticut. Twenty-one percent increase in New Mexico. In recent years consumers have faced unprecedented hikes in their health insurance premiums. In many cases, these hikes are driven by the increasing costs of medical care. But what happens when an insurance company…
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Opportunity Now to Engage on Establishing a State Exchange
By Liz Arjun Last week I was at a meeting where we were joined by Joel Ario, the HHS official who is overseeing implementation of the new Health Insurance Exchanges, the vehicle that is expected to provide coverage for close to 30 million Americans in 2014. We had a chance to ask him questions and…
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Experts Opine on the Future of Medicaid
By Joe Touschner The New York Times’ “Room for Debate” feature recently addressed a topic near and dear to those of us concerned with the health of low-income children and families: the future of Medicaid. Six participants from across the ideological spectrum weighed in on how the nation should address the challenges faced by this…
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Congress Acts to Change ACA Subsidy Structure
By Joe Touschner We’re less than a year beyond the passage of the Affordable Care Act and still three full years from the implementation of state exchanges and their federal premium subsidies. But already Congress has decided to make some significant changes to how the premium tax credits would work and, in the process, could…
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New Transparency Standards Set for Mini-Meds
Yesterday, CCF’s guest blogger Aaron Smith of Young Invincibles wrote about some of the problems with so-called “mini-meds” or limited benefit plans. These are products that can’t even be called “insurance” because they provide so little protection to patients – some of them have limits on what they’ll cover as low as $2000 per year. Unfortunately, for millions…