Arkansas
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Performing Under Pressure: Annual Findings of a 50-State Survey of Eligibility, Enrollment, Renewal, and Cost-Sharing Policies in Medicaid and CHIP, 2011-2012
Amid ongoing state budget pressures, a requirement in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that states maintain eligibility in Medicaid and CHIP was central in preserving coverage during 2011. In addition, more than half of states (29) made improvements in their programs. Most of these improvements involved greater use of technology to boost program efficiency and…
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Despite Economic Challenges, Progress Continues: Children’s Health Insurance Coverage in the United States from 2008-2010
In this paper, health insurance data from the Census Bureau’s annual “American Community Survey” was analyzed in order to get a more accurate depiction of children’s coverage. Even though the number of children living in poverty has increased almost 19 percent over a three-year period, the number of children without health insurance declined 14 percent–…
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Exciting News About ARKIDS and Medicaid
By Elisabeth Wright Burak, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families Here’s a sneak peak at an exciting trend we’ve just uncovered in recent insurance coverage data. In a nutshell: the number of uninsured kids in Arkansas is dropping, even as families continue to feel the effects of the recession. As lawmakers debate the future of Medicaid…
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Fulfilling the Promise of 2014: Aligning and Simplifying Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment for Children and Parents
Simplification and alignment of policies for children in Medicaid and CHIP have helped states fill the gap in private insurance and achieve record levels of coverage for 90% of our nation’s children. These lessons are carried forward in the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of coverage through Medicaid and the Exchanges. The ACA envision a customer-friendly,…
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Medicaid and its Role for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN): A Family Perspective
The nation’s children have a lot at stake in the ongoing federal and state level debates over Medicaid’s role in deficit reduction efforts. Children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) are most vulnerable to Medicaid cuts because so many rely on it. Approximately 14% (10.2 million) of children meet the criteria of having…
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Arkansas Lawmakers Ensure Kids Keep Coverage as Private Plans Leave the State
By Elisabeth Wright Burak, Arkansas Advocates The legislative session in Arkansas ended last month with many accomplishments for kids’ health on the books. We spend a lot of time talking about measures to improve access to ARKids First and promising new oral health accomplishments, including better availability of fluoridated water and preventive dental services. …
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Arkansas Removes Red-Tape
By Elisabeth Wright Burak, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families The Arkansas Finish Line Coalition was pleased to see Senate Bill 65 signed into law by Governor Mike Beebe Wednesday. It will ensure as many as 20,000 children eligible for ARKids First health insurance aren’t pushed out of coverage because of paperwork errors. The “Red Tape”…
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Medicaid and State Budgets: Looking at the Facts
Medicaid continues to make up a large share of state budgets, but its role is far more nuanced than is frequently portrayed. This series of fact sheets is designed to provide a short overview of the role of Medicaid in state budgets, the sources of spending, and details on how much each state spends. The…
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Eliminating Medicaid and CHIP Stability Provisions (MoE): What’s at Stake for Children and Families
The stability in Medicaid and CHIP can be directly attributed to the short-term fiscal relief and the federal requirements that states maintain their eligibility rules and enrollment procedures until broader health reform is implemented. If the stability provisions are rescinded, states could eliminate Medicaid for anyone who is covered at state option, as well as…
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Getting To the Finish Line: Investments in State-Based Advocacy Show Real Returns in Covering Uninsured Children
By Liane Wong and Eugene Lewit, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation Even though last week seemed like it was all about the run-up to the Super Bowl, many of us in the nation had another cause to celebrate. February 4, 2011 was the second anniversary of the reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program…
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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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Arkansas Advocates Convene Child Health Summit
By Joe Touschner This week, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families hosted a Child Health Summit to build momentum around covering uninsured, eligible children and moving to coverage for the whole family under health reform. The summit convened state officials, advocates, providers, and others to share information, network, and discuss ways the state could move…
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Advocates Can Guide and Support Efforts to Advance Children’s Coverage: Reports Show How
By Eugene Lewit and Liane Wong The David and Lucile Packard Foundation The percent of uninsured children has consistently declined, despite deterioration of coverage for adults and the economy. This is one of the significant but frequently overlooked good news stories of recent years. The gains in children’s coverage have been due in large part to…
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Change
Last November, excitement over the prospects for real change swept a new President into office and gave hope to many who had long since lost hope that things could get better and that government could do good. We all have our own criteria for what constitutes “real” or “good” change, but whatever change may mean,…
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CCF Turns 4 Today!
The Center for Children and Families came into being four years ago today to develop effective, practical strategies to improve access to quality health care for children and families. As we spend our birthday watching the Senate Roundtable Discussion,”Increasing Access to Health Care Coverage,” we wanted to celebrate with you online (fewer calories that way).…
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More States Are Saying Yes to Kids Coverage
One of the most common questions we get at CCF is, “What are states doing to cover kids?” Since CHIP was reauthorized in February, this question has taken on a new twist: “Are states doing more to cover children since the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) of 2009 was signed by President Obama?” The answer…
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Weathering the Storm: States Move Forward on Child and Family Health Coverage Despite Tough Economic Climate
This report provides a first look at state activity after the passage of CHIPRA and the availability of increased Medicaid funding in the economic stimulus package. It finds that despite unprecedented fiscal challenges, all but a few states held steady on children’s health coverage, and twenty-three states took steps to move forward. This progress on…
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Family Coverage Under SCHIP Waivers
This report examines 11 states that have been granted waivers to provide health care coverage to parents using SCHIP funds. It shows that while SCHIP parent enrollment nationwide is relatively small, the coverage provided helps fill a major coverage gap for low-income parents and their families.
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Closing the Coverage Gap: Trends in Health Insurance Coverage for Children
From 1996-97 to 2003-04, the uninsured rate of low-income children was reduced by a third; however, the national data mask significant variation across the states in how children are faring. To provide a state-specific perspective on the issue, this brief examines health insurance trends for children in all 50 states and the District of Columbia…