Research & Reports
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CHIPRA Led Way to More Stable and Accessible Coverage in Ohio
(Editor’s Note: CHIPRA celebrates its second anniversary this week and Say Ahhh! is featuring guest blogs about how the law has impacted children and families in their states. Mary Wachtel of Voices for Ohio’s Children is today’s featured blogger. Ohio was also featured in CCF’s 50-state survey of Medicaid and CHIP eligibility and enrollment released…
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With the Right Mix, Children’s Coverage Doesn’t Have to Take a Back Seat
By Julie Silas (Children’s Defense Fund-California) and Mike Odeh (Children Now), with the 100% Campaign While health insurers are pulling child-only plans out of the individual insurance market in a majority of states, California stands as a model in realizing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and envisioning a reformed coverage system where the injustice against children is finally…
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CHIPRA Provides More Funds to Help States Pay for Language Services
By Mara Youdelman, National Health Law Program As immigrant communities expand across the United States, many healthcare providers and patients have encountered communication barriers making it difficult for patients to receive proper care. Yet proper communication is as important to healthcare as a stethoscope. You can’t listen to someone’s heart without a stethoscope. How can…
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CHIPRA Anniversary Approaching: Let’s Celebrate Successful Outreach
Elizabeth Wood (Editor’s Note: In honor of the upcoming Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act anniversary on Feb. 4, Say Ahhh! is highlighting how CHIPRA has helped connect children with coverage since President Obama signed it into law two years ago. This week, Elizabeth Wood, formerly with the New Jersey Office of the Child Advocate,…
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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…