Research & Reports
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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…
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Georgetown Center for Children and Families: Strengthening Medicaid Project
Author: Vikki Wachino Council of State Governments — Presentation Document May 2008
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Choosing Premium Assistance: What Does State Experience Tell Us?
Premium assistance programs use federal and state Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) funds to purchase private coverage. Overall, few states have premium assistance programs, but interest in premium assistance remains high. This issue brief examines six state premium assistance programs (in Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Oregon, Utah, and Virginia) that allow families to…
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Florida’s Medicaid Reform Pilot Programs: Challenges with Mental Health Services
People with disabilities and chronic conditions, including persons with mental illnesses, present challenges for managed care organizations. As the Florida Legislature, other policymakers and the public track the Medicaid reform pilot programs, it is important to assess how this unique managed care model works for some of the diverse populations affected by reform. This policy…
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Out of Touch: A Status Report on CMS’s August 17th Directive
By Jocelyn Guyer On August 17, 2007, CMS sent a letter, known as the August 17th directive, to state health officials sharply restricting the ability of states to cover uninsured children using SCHIP funds. New data and analyses from state officials, research organizations, and policy experts raise significant questions about the basis for and the…
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CMS August 17 Directive: Lawsuits
New York Families, January 17, 2008 This lawsuit was filed on behalf of children ages 5 months to 3 1/2 years old who have been denied coverage through New York’s SCHIP program due to the CMS directive. Multi-State Lawsuit, October 4, 2007 This lawsuit was filed by New York, Illinois, Maryland and Washington against the…
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Covering Uninsured Children: The Impact of the August 17 CHIP Directive
Author: Cindy Mann U.S. Senate Finance Committee, Subcommittee on Health Care — Testimony Document April 9, 2008
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Implications of the August 17th Directive
By Jocelyn Guyer American Academy of Pediatrics – Presentation Document March 2008
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Louisiana – Expansions, Simplifications and Outreach
Summary Since the late 1990’s Louisiana has made steady and substantial progress in expanding eligibility for Medicaid and LaCHIP (Louisiana’s State Children’s Health Insurance Program), and enrolling and retaining eligible children. Since LaCHIP’s implementation in November 1998, Louisiana reported an uninsured rate for low-income children of 32 percent. By 2007, the uninsured rate for this…
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CMS August 17 Directive: Decline in Private Coverage Requirement
What the Directive Requires Under the August 17, 2007 directive, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) imposed new conditions that states must meet in order to cover children with gross family incomes above 250 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) with SCHIP funding. One of these conditions required that there is “assurance…
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CMS 95% Coverage Rate Requirement
What the Directive Required Under the directive, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) imposed new conditions that states must meet in order to cover children with gross family incomes above 250 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) with SCHIP funds. One of these conditions required that at least 95 percent of children…
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Children’s Coverage: Moving Forward in Uncertain Times
Author: Cindy Mann National Association for Children’s Behavioral Health – Presentation Document March 2008
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SCHIP Funding in the Year Ahead: Implications of the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act
By Jocelyn Guyer Although Congress twice passed SCHIP reauthorization bills with strong, bi-partisan support in 2007, President Bush’s decision to veto these bills ultimately led Congress to simply extend the existing SCHIP program with new funding through March 2009. This issue brief provides details on the financing provisions of the extension and state-specific data on…
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Advancing Efficient Management and Purchasing of Prescription Drugs in Medicaid
Prescription drugs are both central to effective health care and a major driver of spending in the Medicaid program, accounting for more than $19 billion in Medicaid spending in 2006. This paper puts forward state and federal approaches to help manage prescription drugs efficiently and ensure that Medicaid gets the best possible price on prescription…
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Cover All Kids: Pennsylvania’s State-Wide Campaign to Expand Eligibility
In 2004, in an effort to more accurately identify remaining gaps in health care coverage, the Pennsylvania Insurance Department commissioned a survey on the insurance status of citizens in the state. The Department found that while 96 percent of Pennsylvania’s children had coverage, more than 133,500 were uninsured. Of these, approximately 108,000 were eligible for…