Research & Reports
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VA Families Can Breathe Easier as FAMIS Cuts Were Averted
By John McInerney, Health Policy Director, The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis Families in Virginia can breathe a bit easier these days, as efforts by Governor Bob McDonnell and the House of Delegates to tighten eligibility in the states’ CHIP program have failed. Virginia’s program is called Family Access to Medical Insurance Security (FAMIS), and it…
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It Happened One Night
By Donna Cohen Ross, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities All in one night — February 11 — 10,484 eligible children were enrolled into Louisiana’s Medicaid program. Are you trying to imagine this? If so, you’re probably picturing mile-long lines of children winding through Baton Rouge, parents in tow, clutching packets of forms and documents. …
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Summary of Medicaid, CHIP, and Low-Income Provisions in Health Care Reform
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is designed (with its companion set of amendments in H.R. 4782) to provide coverage to 32 million people, adopt broad-reaching reforms in insurance industry practices, make major new investments in public health, and reduce the federal deficits. This…
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PICO’s Gordon Whitman Reflects on Historic Sunday Vote for Health Reform
(Editor’s Note: While CCF staff had their noses buried in legislative language and watched the health reform debate from the comforts of their own homes, PICO’s Gordon Whitman was out on the front lines. From what we saw on our televisions, there was a lot of commotion as protestors on both sides of the issue…
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Holding the Line on Medicaid and CHIP: Key Questions and Answers About Health Care Reform’s Maintenance-of-Effort Requirements
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requires that states maintain their current eligibility standards for Medicaid and the CHIP. These maintenance-of-eligibility (MOE) requirements apply to adults until the major components of health reform go into effect on January 1, 2014, and to children until September 30, 2019. This set of question and answers…
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Health Care Reform and Covering Sick Children
Once President Obama signed into law the health care reform bill, we all started to dig a little deeper into what the provisions mean for those in the “real world.” One issue that has risen to the top is untangling the new rules governing when insurance companies have to cover sick children. So, let’s break…
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Hoyas Lost in Providence but Georgetown’s CCF Conference was a Winner
By Ann Bacharach, Pennsylvania Health Law Project I went to Providence last week, just ahead of an historic weekend. No, I’m not talking about Rounds One and Two of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament or the upset of Georgetown by Ohio. No, I was there to attend the second of CCF’s regional meetings: Transforming Health…
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Medicaid Fiscal Relief Q&A
The new game in DC these days seems to be naming every other bill coming out of Congress a “jobs bill.” While the provisions in each of these bills may indeed focus on job creation, it has become nearly impossible to keep the different bills straight. It becomes particularly perplexing when tracking an issue many…
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Health Reform Expected to Be Moving Next Week in House; Prospects for Fiscal Relief Remain Good
By Jocelyn Guyer Brace yourselves for a hectic few weeks leading up to the Congressional recess. According to CQ, House leadership is preparing for a possible final vote on health reform as soon as next week. It is still unclear whether or not they have the votes to pass the measure, which would actually be…
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Holding Steady: Medicaid Fiscal Relief and its Implications for America’s Children and Families
In the current recession, Medicaid has become more important than ever, offering coverage to an additional 2 million children. This issue brief explores the role that Medicaid fiscal relief has played in sustaining affordable coverage options for children and their families during these uncertain times, and the risk of unraveling the progress that has been…
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CCF Coming to a City Near You
CCF is hitting the road! We’ve scheduled four meetings around the country to bring together child and family health advocates to discuss opportunities and challenges for moving forward on coverage. Our first meeting, for the Southern region, took place last week in Tampa, Florida and despite how difficult it is to hold a health conference…
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CHIP Tips: Children’s Oral Health Benefits
Written with the Children’s Dental Health Project, this brief examines a new requirement under the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 that state CHIP programs cover comprehensive dental benefits. The reauthorization law also allows states with separate CHIP programs to offer a dental-only plan for children who have other health insurance but lack…
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Monday Morning…. Where Are We?
Having just survived a truly impressive tantrum this morning from one of my sons who was deeply committed to going to school this morning without shoes, I’m feeling primed for what promises to be a raucous final stage of the health reform debate. As far as we know, Congress is still proceeding with the plan of…
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An Update on State Fiscal Relief: Momentum is Building
By Jocelyn Guyer The pressure to extend the temporary increase in the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for Medicaid included in last year’s stimulus bill is building. Widely credited with helping states through one of the worst fiscal crises on record, the provision also has been vital in stabilizing Medicaid coverage for children and others…
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CHIP Allotments: Federal Funding Remains Secure for States
One of the goals of CHIPRA was to ensure that no state would be at risk of exhausting the federal funding needed to cover uninsured children through its CHIP program. Recent data show that the legislation is working as intended, as states have had the federal resources they need to sustain and strengthen their CHIP…
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President Obama: It’s Time to Bring this Journey to an End
Following last week’s health care summit and release of his health care reform proposal, the President today urged Congress to end the debate and bring health reform across the finish line. In his remarks, the President painted a vivid picture of what it means to not pass health reform, including more uninsured families, additional people…
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President Obama’s Health Care Reform Proposal: Key Medicaid, CHIP, and Low-Income Provisions
President Obama’s health reform plan set the stage for the bipartisan health reform summit the White House convened. This fact sheet provides a description of the key Medicaid, CHIP, and low-income provisions.
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Clawback Provision Brings More Fiscal Relief to States
You know those Old Westerns where the hero rides in at that last minute to save the day. That’s what last week’s “clawback” reduction announcement must have felt like to many states trying to maintain their Medicaid programs in the wake of increased need and reduced revenues caused by the recession.
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CHIPRA Strengthening Quality of Children’s Health Care
Charlie Homer President and CEO, National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality In this time of agonizing about broad health care reform, I take solace in celebrating the passage of CHIPRA (the Child Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act) just over a year ago, and focusing on its productive implementation. CHIPRA not only expanded access to health insurance…
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CHIPRA Performance Bonuses for Medicaid
Author: Tricia Brooks National Covering Kids and Families Network Webinar – Presentation Document February 22, 2010