Iowa
-
INTERACTIVE MAPS: Children Covered by Medicaid and CHIP by county, state or congressional district.
These maps show how many children are covered by Medicaid in each county and congressional district. Visit these links to view the maps, and to download handouts on your state’s coverage data: Percent of Children Covered by Medicaid/CHIP (congressional district) Percent of Children Covered by Medicaid/CHIP (county) Visit CCF’s State Resource Center for state-level data on health…
-
Improving Health Equity Through Early Childhood Primary Health Care and Medicaid
It is in the first 1000 days of life that health practitioners actually can have the greatest impact upon a person’s healthy growth and development. The P.A.R.E.N.T.S. Science (Protective factors, Adverse childhood experiences, Resiliency, Epigenetics, Neurobiology, Toxic stress, and Social determinants of health) points to the critical importance of setting a positive health trajectory during…
-
Early Returns From Iowa’s Health and Wellness Plan: Are Healthy Behavior Programs Working?
Being healthier is a good thing, so it’s appealing for policymakers to insert the issue into their Medicaid expansion debates but so far healthy behavior programs set up by states for their Medicaid beneficiaries are producing more talking points and red-tape than results. It’s still early though, so we will keep watching, but count me…
-
Last Call for State-Based Health Insurance Marketplaces
Arkansas Governor Beebe recently noted that some Republican Governors are warming to the idea of running their own health insurance marketplace. I hope that they know that their time is running out! Setting up a state-based health insurance marketplace is no small task, and unlike the Medicaid expansion decision, states that want to do it…
-
Where Does EPSDT Stand in Post-ACA Medicaid Expansion 1115 Waivers?
In the last few months, CMS has approved Medicaid expansion 1115 waiver demonstrations in Arkansas, Iowa and Michigan. Pennsylvania has a draft 1115 waiver proposal to expand Medicaid out as well. One important question that has emerged is: How will states continue to provide EPSDT and other benefits to 19 and 20 year olds who…
-
Iowa Medicaid Expansion Waiver Approved!
Just in time for Christmas, and more importantly in time to get the program up and running by January 1st, federal CMS has granted Iowa’s request for two Section 1115 waivers to allow the state to pursue its own version of Medicaid expansion. This is good news for the more than 100,000 Iowans who stand…
-
Children’s Health Coverage on the Eve of the Affordable Care Act
Georgetown University Center for Children and Families researchers analyzed health insurance data from the Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey to get a closer look at children’s coverage trends. On the eve of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act coverage expansions, the authors found important lessons from the success the U.S. has had in covering children. The number of uninsured…
-
Under Pressure: An Update on Restrictive State Insurance Marketplace Consumer Assistance Laws
By Justin Giovanelli, Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms To help consumers enroll in the recently opened health insurance marketplaces, the Affordable Care Act created outreach and consumer assistance positions such as “navigators,” in-person assisters, and certified application counselors. Though they are subject to uniform federal standards, in practice, these programs range widely from…
-
Iowa’s Medicaid Expansion Proposal: A Step Forward, But Read the Fine Print
CCF and 22 other national groups submitted comments to HHS about Iowa’s two complimentary Section 1115 waivers: Iowa Marketplace Choice Plan and Iowa Wellness Plan. Like my colleague Joan Alker wrote last week, Iowa’s proposal is not a simple Medicaid expansion like we saw earlier in the year, but a more complicated “round 2” approach…
-
Medicaid Expansion Round 2: From Simplicity to Complexity
As a practical matter, I think accepting 100% federal funding to extend Medicaid coverage to adults and getting that coverage up and running is easier than setting up a state-based marketplace, implementing the new insurance reforms and tax credits etc etc. States obviously already have Medicaid programs up and running – in many cases with…
-
Breast Cancer Patient Had to Become a Fundraiser to Make Up for Insurance Plan Shortcomings
By JoAnn Volk, Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reform More than three years after Congress enacted the Affordable Care Act, both the House and Senate are still holding hearings on the law, covering everything from how the Administration is working to implement the law to what it will mean for our health insurance…
-
Getting Into Gear for 2014: Findings from a 50-State Survey of Eligibility, Enrollment, Renewal, and Cost-Sharing Policies in Medicaid and CHIP, 2012-2013
As 2013 begins, implementation of the major provisions of the ACA, including its coverage expansions, is less than a year away. Following the Supreme Court ruling to uphold the ACA and the 2012 elections, efforts to prepare for 2014 are moving into high gear in many states. The majority of states are capitalizing on web-based…
-
23 States Receive CHIPRA Performance Bonuses for Removing Barriers and Enrolling Children in Health Coverage
Demonstrating that covering kids is still a very high priority across the nation, twenty-three states earned CHIPRA performance bonuses for improving access to children’s health coverage and successfully enrolling eligible children. The states will split a total of nearly $306 million. The 23 states include: Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Montana,…
-
Uninsured Children 2009-2011: Charting the Nation’s Progress
Georgetown University Center for Children and Families researchers analyzed health insurance data from the Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey to get a closer look at children’s coverage trends. The authors found that the nation continues to make steady progress covering children, despite no reduction in the number of children living in poverty. A strong commitment to…
-
State Fact Sheets Highlight Importance of Medicaid Coverage for Children
By Ielnaz Kashefipour, American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics, in partnership with the Children’s Hospitals Association (formerly NACHRI), this week produced updated state-by-state fact sheets that explain the importance of the Medicaid program for children. These fact sheets are used in federal and state advocacy efforts to protect the Medicaid program from…
-
Medicaid Coverage for Parents under the Affordable Care Act – State Fact Sheets
This issue brief presents national estimates of the number and characteristics of uninsured parents who would be eligible for Medicaid in 2014 according to whether they have child who is currently enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP coverage or an uninsured child who is eligible for Medicaid/CHIP but not enrolled. State-specific data are also provided on the ten…
-
Taking Stock of Important Milestones as ACA Turns Two
By Kevin Lucia, Georgetown University Health Policy Institute’s Center on Health Insurance Studies When a child turns two, it’s natural to take stock of all the milestones they have achieved such as first steps, first words and first solid foods. Some parents are even organized enough to document all these achievements in a baby book. …
-
ACA Protects and Improves Access to Preventive Care for Children
Medicaid and CHIP have helped millions of children access preventive care at no cost to families. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) takes this commitment further by removing cost and coverage barriers that could deter families from taking full advantage of preventive care services in private insurance plans. Since becoming law, the ACA has helped maintain…
-
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…
-
Secrets to Success: An Analysis of Four States at the Forefront of the Nation’s Gains in Children’s Health Coverage
The uninsured rate for children dropped to 8% in 2010, the lowest point ever achieved since the federal government began tracking this statistic in 1987. The following issue-brief attempts to gain an increased understanding of factors contributing to the success in coverage of children by conducting site visits and interviews with key stakeholders in four…


