Kentucky
-
Medicaid Waiver Wars: CMS Strikes Back
Late last month, a federal District Court ruled that the approval of the Kentucky Medicaid work requirements waiver by the Secretary of Health and Human Services was “arbitrary and capricious” because, among other things, even though the record showed that 95,000 people would lose Medicaid coverage, “the Secretary paid no attention to that deprivation.” The…
-
Federal judge blocks Kentucky’s Medicaid work requirements
Vox By: Dylan Scott A federal judge blocked Kentucky’s Medicaid work requirements on Friday, ruling that the Trump administration did not adequately consider before approving the state’s proposal whether work requirements would violate the program’s purpose of providing health care to the most vulnerable Americans. … Adding to the confusion, Bevin didn’t even really need to issue…
-
Kentucky is taking Medicaid expansion hostage to win its work requirements lawsuit
Vox By: Dylan Scott Any day now, we should be getting a federal court ruling on whether Kentucky and the Trump administration can legally require many Medicaid recipients to work. US District Judge James Boasberg, an Obama appointee, heard oral arguments on June 15 in the lawsuit to block the state’s work requirements. He said he planned to…
-
State Medicaid and CHIP Snapshots, 2018
The Georgetown University Center for Children and Families (CCF) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) created factsheets underscoring the importance of Medicaid in providing coverage for children in all 51 states (including the District of Columbia). Sources are available here. Previous snapshots can be found here.
-
Tracking Medicaid Work Requirement Proposals
We here at Georgetown University CCF are closely tracking Medicaid Section 1115 demonstration waiver proposals as states attempt to create new barriers to coverage. There are many troubling proposals pending, but one of the most common is the imposition of a work or community service requirement as a condition of Medicaid coverage. As a reference,…
-
Trump Administration’s New Medicaid Waiver Policy Will Increase Number of Uninsured: Kentucky Likely to be First Approved
I was in Kentucky last week where I spoke to an audience of health care providers and advocates about the success of the state’s Medicaid expansion and the giant step backwards its pending waiver proposal would be. I was relieved that the state’s pending waiver proposal wasn’t approved while I was there as my trip…
-
Nationwide Rate of Uninsured Children Reaches Historic Low
Nationwide 95.5 percent of children had health insurance in 2016, up from 95.2 percent the previous year—and up from 92.9 percent in 2013, the year before the ACA was fully implemented. While relatively few children rely on the ACA’s Marketplace for insurance, many gained coverage in Medicaid or CHIP when their parents signed up for…
-
Section 1115 Medicaid Waiver Comments
Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families contributes an independent perspective to the public dialogue on the future of Medicaid through the lens of children and their families.
-
State CHIP Snapshots
The Role of CHIP in Children’s Coverage In 2016 the children’s health insurance coverage rate in the United States dropped to just above 95 percent, an impressive achievement. Key to this success is the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides coverage to children who do not qualify for Medicaid but whose families cannot otherwise afford…
-
Top 10 Rural Counties With Largest Share of Kids and Adults Relying on Medicaid to Meet Health Needs
Using data from our Rural Health Policy Project, we just took a look at the counties across the country that have the highest percent of children and adults relying on Medicaid for their health care. As readers of SayAhhh! know, our study found that children living in small towns and rural areas are significantly more…
-
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…
-
Weighing in on the Kentucky Medicaid Waiver Request
Last week, we submitted comments in partnership with twelve other national organizations on Kentucky’s proposed section 1115 Medicaid demonstration waiver, which would make significant changes to Kentucky’s currently successful Medicaid expansion program. Our comments on the proposed waiver, known as Kentucky HEALTH, centered on concerns in areas of the demonstration project that would add red-tape…
-
Kentucky Submits Proposed Medicaid Waiver
A couple months ago, Kentucky released the first version of its proposed Medicaid waiver for public comment and we pointed out several major problems with the proposal. Basically, the proposal contained elements like very high premiums and very high copayments, lockout periods where people would be denied health coverage and work (or involuntary “volunteer”) requirements:…
-
Incentivizing Healthy Behaviors: Kentucky is Latest State to Pursue Despite Evidence it Doesn’t Work
Some ideas just keep popping up despite the near certainty that they won’t work. The recent Medicaid waiver proposal from Governor Bevin of Kentucky emphasizes the use of a rewards account where beneficiaries get points by engaging in healthy behaviors or community engagement activities to help pay for vision and dental care. This idea has…
-
Medicaid Expansion: Driving Innovation in Behavioral Health Integration
By Jack Hoadley and Adam Searing Safety-net providers in states that have accepted the federal funding available for Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are experiencing a positive ripple effect, where increased insurance coverage rates among patients and thus greater financial security for safety-net institutions are translating into better care. We found that…
-
Kentucky’s Proposed Waiver Could Undermine its Successful Medicaid Expansion
By Sean Miskell and Adam Searing Kentucky has released a new Medicaid waiver request for state public comment today. This proposal would allow the state to make significant changes to its existing Medicaid program, affecting not only those newly eligible beneficiaries currently receiving health care through Kentucky’s existing Medicaid expansion, but also others served by…
-
Beyond the Reduction in Uncompensated Care: Medicaid Expansion Is Having a Positive Impact on Safety Net Hospitals and Clinics
More than two years after the onset of expanded Medicaid coverage, significant differences are emerging between states that opted to expand Medicaid and those that did not. This report contains the findings of telephone interviews with eleven leaders of hospital systems and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) in seven states. Three of the states where we conducted interviews…
-
New Health Insurance Data Shows More Kentucky Kids are Covered
By Terry Brooks, Kentucky Youth Advocates New health insurance data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau revealed that health insurance coverage rates for both children and adults increased in Kentucky from 2013 to 2014. The one-year estimates from the American Community Survey revealed that 95.7 percent of Kentucky children under 18 had health insurance in…
-
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…
-
Governor Supports Medicaid Expansion – State Will Come Out Ahead on Health and Finances
Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear announced on Thursday that he would accept federal funding to offer Medicaid more uninsured Kentuckians. The expansion has the potential to almost halve the number of uninsured people in the state. Governor Beshear cited research that found accepting the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid option would create 17,000 new jobs and add…
