Research & Reports
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Where are the Parents in Health Reform?
By Martha Heberlein These are uncertain times for children and their families – the threat of job and health insurance losses haunt many. Health reform could provide the peace of mind families need, but it is important to keep in mind that children are just one piece of the family puzzle. Parents must not be…
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More than a Dozen States are Moving Forward On Children’s Health Coverage, As California Moves Backward on Covering Uninsured Children, Update
By Jocelyn Guyer A quick addendum… It has been only a few hours since we posted our statement on California’s decision to shut down new enrollment into its Children’s Health Insurance Program even as most states have found ways to maintain or even strengthen their coverage of children. In the interim, some more bad news…
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More than a Dozen States are Moving Forward On Children’s Health Coverage, As California Moves Backward on Covering Uninsured Children
By Jocelyn Guyer During tough budget times, most states have maintained their commitment to covering uninsured children. At least eighteen states have even further strengthened coverage for uninsured children, despite budget problems, as the recession has increased the need. While many states have prioritized covering uninsured children, California lawmakers voted to deny coverage to nearly…
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Affordability is Key for Health Reform
By Sara Gagné-Holmes, Executive Director of Maine Equal Justice Partners In drafting a national plan, Washington should follow Maine’s lead. In the health care debate, most agree that costs will not be controlled until everyone is covered and able to access the right care, including preventive care and management of chronic illnesses, at the right…
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House Tri-Committee Health Reform Bill
It was another eventful week for health reform. You only have to turn on CNN or read the blogs for the political ins and outs. On perhaps the less sexy side of things, we have been busy reading the House’s new 1,018 page health reform bill, the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009. The…
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An Update on Health Reform and Kids
By Joe Touschner This week has been a reminder of both the promise and peril of health reform–we have seen real progress but also real signs that the whole initiative could falter. Health reform legislation passed two committees in the House–Ways and Means and Education and Labor, but there remains serious doubt about whether it…
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Even in tough times, states can do the right thing for kids.
Jill Beckwith and Jessica Mack, Policy Analysts, Rhode Island Kids Count Rhode Island has been a leader in making sure that children have health insurance, with 94% of our kids covered. Most are covered through employer-sponsored insurance, and about one-third through RIte Care, our state’s Medicaid managed care program for children and families. Like so…
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An Overview of the CHIPRA Outreach and Enrollment Grants
On July 6, 2009, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Medicaid Director Cindy Mann announced a request for a first round of outreach grant proposals funded through CHIPRA. This brief provides an overview of the grants and the requirements for applicants. This brief is part of a series that puts a spotlight on specific provisions of…
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Health Reform & Budget Reconciliation – It’s not as simple as it seems!
Edwin Park, Senior Fellow, Center of Budget and Policy Priorities Even as each day brings new details about House and Senate health reform legislation and we all gird ourselves for the race to pass health legislation in each chamber before the August recess, a question might be lingering in the back of your mind: what…
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The Tri-Committee Health Reform Bill: Implications for Children
By Jocelyn Guyer On Friday, almost two weeks ago now, the three major committees in the House with jurisdiction over health reform put out a draft legislative proposal, known as “The Tri-Committee bill.” We’ve now read the 852-page document a few times, and think it would make giant strides in providing access to coverage to…
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Iowa Expands Health Coverage for Children
Carrie Fitzgerald, Senior Health Policy Associate, Child & Family Policy Center, Iowa Liz Arjun has blogged about the fact that CHIPRA has encouraged many states to move forward on health coverage for children despite facing difficult budgetary climates. We have posted guest blogs from children’s health coverage experts in Colorado, Kansas and Oregon, a…
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Children’s Special Health Care Needs Can Bankrupt Families
Meg Comeau, Project Director for the Catalyst Center, Boston University School of Public Health As policymakers consider health reform, they will need to consider the needs of families raising children with special health care needs. These families are not only hit hard in the pocketbook, they face overwhelming bureaucratic obstacles to coverage. We asked…
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Cost Sharing – What is Affordable in Health Reform?
By Martha Heberlein As the health reform debate continues to ramp up, questions of what is affordable and how much families should contribute still remain. Perhaps a look at the research could shed some light on the answers. A recent study in Health Affairs by Tom Selden, Jenny Kenney, and colleagues looks at cost sharing…
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Oregon Isn’t Waiting for Health Reform to Pass In Order to Help Uninsured Children and Families
Guest Blogger, Cathy Kaufman, Communications and Policy Director at Children First for Oregon Liz Arjun has blogged about the fact that CHIPRA has encouraged many states to move forward on health coverage for children despite facing difficult budgetary climates. We have posted guest blogs from children’s health coverage experts in Colorado and Kansas, two of…
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The Week in Health Reform – Hitting a Speed Bump
By Jocelyn Guyer Health reform didn’t go very well this week and everyone already knows it. Since it is well-covered territory, I’ll leave the depressing details to others, and stick to what this week’s developments mean for children. Leaving aside for now the just-released and yet-to-be-read 852-page House bill on health reform, the most notable…
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$6 Billion for CHIP – the Allotments are In!
By Martha Heberlein The long-awaited (at least by us) fiscal year 2009 “CHIPRA allotments” were released today. They reveal, in final form, the new federal funding available to each state for its Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in fiscal year 2009. As we anticipated based on earlier projections, each and every state will experience a…
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The Health Care Game of Chance: A Tale of Two Families
Some of you may have been listening to the Senate HELP Committee hearings this week on its health reform proposal, the Affordable Health Choices Act. There was a lot of talking going on, making it hard at times to see “the forest through the trees.” But Senator Dodd’s opening statement provided some clarity when he…
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Affordable Healthy Choices Act – Implications for Kids in the Health Reform Bill
By Jocelyn Guyer Last week, the Senate HELP Committee publicly released the first, major bill outlining its proposal for health reform, the Affordable Health Choices Act. It is easy when reading any bill — especially a 615-page one that you are reading at 5:00 a.m. to avoid being distracted by e-mail, phone calls, and kids…
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The Numbers Are In: Could Some Children End Up Worse Off After Health Reform?
By Jocelyn Guyer We’ve finally got a glimpse at how the all-important Congressional Budget Office is thinking about evaluating the cost of the major health reform proposals under consideration in Congress. CBO today released a preliminary analysis and blog entry on the estimated impact of Senator Kennedy’s Affordable Health Choices Act. Unfortunately, the results are…
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Children’s Health Insurance Program Financing – Not as Cutting Edge as Dr. Gawande’s Article But Vital to Kids Health
By Jocelyn Guyer Not destined to be as au courant in health reform circles as Dr. Atul Gawande’s article on health care costs that President Obama is now touting, but if you would like the blow-by-blow on how the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) changes the way that federal dollars flow to states…