Research & Reports
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Program Design Snapshot: Paperless Income Verification
By Joe Touschner Medicaid and SCHIP collect information on families’ incomes in order to determine eligibility. Most states require applicants to present paper copies of pay stubs and other documents, such as records of child support payments, to verify their incomes. The short brief shows that states, however, have the opportunity to modernize their programs…
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Data Reporting to Assess Enrollment and Retention in Medicaid and SCHIP
Enrollment and retention data are essential tools to ensuring that all uninsured children eligible for Medicaid and SCHIP are enrolled. Reliable data reported on a routine basis help to pinpoint both administrative inefficiencies and opportunities to assure coverage of eligible children. This paper describes high level data points that help to identify bottlenecks and barriers,…
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Rhode Island’s Medicaid Waiver: A Bad Deal for the State
In August 2008, Rhode Island applied for federal permission to radically transform its Medicaid program. Rhode Island asked for a fixed amount of federal funds each year along with permission to bypass longstanding federal standards protecting Medicaid beneficiaries. However, the terms and conditions of the waiver fail to take into account the impact of the…
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Children in Health Care Reform: Where Things Stand
The country has made significant progress covering children. Health reform has the potential to build upon this success by opening new doorways so that all children have quality and affordable health insurance and providing coverage options to their parents and the other adults in their lives. This fact sheet provides basic information on the coverage…
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Fact Sheet on Senator Baucus’ Call to Action
This fact sheet provides a review of the key provisions of Senator Baucus’ white paper on health reform.
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Keeping the Promise to Children and Families in Tough Economic Times
Ten years of progress on children’s health care coverage is threatened by increasing unemployment, declining state revenues, and a growing affordability gap between family income and the cost of healthcare coverage. This report estimates that over the past year, 4.1 million people have lost their employer-based coverage, including 1.2 million children. It offers options to…
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West Virginia’s Medicaid Redesign
Author: Joan Alker West Virginia Interim Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability Testimony Document October 15, 2008
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Florida’s Experience with Medicaid Reform: What has been Learned in the First Two Years?
Two years after the launch of Florida’s Medicaid reform pilot it appears that beneficiaries’ access to heath care has worsened and financial benefits for the State of Florida remain unknown. Beneficiaries and providers think the Medicaid program has become more complex with more paperwork as a result of reform, and there are signs that access…
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Now We Know: Lessons from a Decade of Health Coverage Simplification and Outreach
Author: Tricia Brooks Center on Budget and Policy Priorities — Presentation Document September 2008
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Postcards from CCF – Louisiana
Louisiana has done an incredible job of reducing the number of children who lose coverage for LaCHIP (Louisiana’s Medicaid or SCHIP) at renewal. What’s the secret to success? Ruth Kennedy, LaCHIP’s director, provides us with the answers. (Additional resources on Louisiana’s renewal processes are also available at the end of the interview.) CCF It is…
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Getting to the Finish Line on Children’s Coverage
Author: Cindy Mann, National Health Policy Forum — Presentation Document September 2008
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Postcards from CCF – Wisconsin (ACCESS)
Wisconsin is one of those quiet, competent places that doesn’t toot its own horn much. It sits back and takes all those cracks about being the cheese capital of the nation while working diligently on innovations to improve the quality of life for its residents. That’s why it is no surprise that Wisconsin is a…
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Program Design Snapshot: Public Coverage Waiting Periods for Children
By Martha Heberlein “Waiting period” refers to the length of time a child is required to be uninsured prior to enrolling in a public health coverage program. The restriction generally applies to separate SCHIP programs only, as waiting periods are not permitted in Medicaid without a waiver. Waiting periods are primarily designed to deter crowd…
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States Moving Forward: Children’s Health Coverage in 2007-08
To a surprising extent, given the weakening economy and growing fiscal strains, states have continued to move forward in their efforts to expand and improve health coverage for children. Notably, over the last year, nineteen states provided health coverage for more uninsured children and families by expanding Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program…
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Putting Out the Welcome Mat: Implications of Coverage Expansions for Already-Eligible Children
By Jocelyn Guyer This fact sheet reports data from four states, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, that have expanded eligibility. The data indicates that “putting out the welcome mat” and offering affordable coverage options through public programs to a broad array of uninsured children in a state can have a powerful effect on the enrollment…
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West Virginia’s Medicaid Redesign: What is the Impact on Children?
The stated goal of West Virginia’s Medicaid Redesign was to improve the health of beneficiaries by promoting healthy behaviors such as smoking cessation, regular doctor visits, and weight loss. Parents of children who receive health care coverage under Medicaid, even if they aren’t eligible themselves, must sign an agreement or their children will automatically be…
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Rhode Island’s Global Compact Waiver
Author: Joan Alker Joint Session of the Rhode Island House and Senate Finance Committees Testimony Document August 5, 2008
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North Carolina Eligibility Expansion
Summary On July 31, 2007, Governor Mike Easley signed into law NC Kids’ Care. NC Kids’ Care is a new publicly subsidized insurance program for children in families earning 201 percent to 300 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). Currently, North Carolina provides Medicaid and Health Choice (its SCHIP program) to children with family…
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The Enhanced Benefits Rewards Program in Florida: Is it Changing the Way Medicaid Beneficiaries Approach Their Health?
A key feature of Florida’s Medicaid Reform pilot is the Enhanced Benefits Rewards Program which provides each Medicaid beneficiary up to $125 a year in credits for certain healthy behaviors, such as keeping a doctor’s appointment. The credits may be applied to the purchase of health and personal care products at participating pharmacies. This policy…
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Key Considerations When Estimating the Cost of Expanding Coverage for Children
In many respects, it would seem easy to estimate the cost of expanding coverage to more children – simply multiply the number of children who will be covered by the per capita cost of serving such children. In practice, however, it can quickly become more complicated, especially given data shortcomings and the assumptions estimators must…