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North Carolina

  • 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…

  • North Carolina Infant Mortality Needs Bold Solutions, Not Business as Usual

    by Rob Thompson, originally posted at NC Child  The word “consistency” suggests stability, predictability, normalcy. It implies that we can move on and not worry. When the State of North Carolina announced our 2014 infant mortality data this week, the official release said “the 2014 statistics are consistent with previous years.” But for our state, consistency in the infant…

  • Many Working Parents and Families in North Carolina Would Benefit from Medicaid Coverage

    North Carolina is one of the 22 states that has elected not to accept federal funding under the ACA to extend Medicaid coverage to parents and other low-income adults. Consequently, parents in North Carolina are not eligible for Medicaid or premium tax credits if their incomes exceed 45 percent of the poverty line ($8,840 annually,…

  • Medicaid Expansion Tipping Point: The three reasons why reluctant states like Pennsylvania are warming up to Medicaid

    It’s getting harder and harder for Governors to say no to the great deal being offered to them through the Medicaid expansion option.  Just last week Pennsylvania reached agreement with the federal government on a Medicaid expansion waiver and news stories show possible movement in Wyoming, Utah and Tennessee. This new momentum forward shows that…

  • Infographic: Southerners More Likely to be Poor, Uninsured and Live in a State that Denies Them Medicaid

    A new infographic from the Kaiser Family Foundation this week lays out some of the ironies of the decision by many southern states not to accept federal money to expand Medicaid health coverage to their lowest-income citizens. With higher rates of poverty and adults more likely to be uninsured, the need for affordable coverage is…

  • 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…

  • Census Shows Uninsured Rate Declines for Children; Poverty Up in Southern Region

    The U.S. Census data released today held some good news on the health coverage of America’s children and families. While poverty remained unacceptably high, the rate of uninsured children continued to decline. The uninsured rate for children declined from 9.4 percent in 2011 to 8.9 percent in 2012. This is mainly due to the success…

  • 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…

  • Video Advocacy from Coast to Coast

    By Adam Searing, North Carolina Justice Center Editor’s Note: As many of you who attended our recent conference know, our friends at NC Justice Center have hit the road to promote the use of video advocacy among advocates across the country.  Adam Searing returns to Say Ahh! to share the latest and greatest.  Be sure…

  • 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…

  • Medicaid Coverage for Parents under the Affordable Care Act

    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…

  • Six States Explore More Efficient Ways to Provide Family Benefits

    For those of us who appreciate the opportunities and challenges states face in implementing the Affordable Care Act, it is easy to get wrapped up in making sure the expanded health coverage programs are streamlined and well coordinated. Much of the work ahead relies on having sophisticated IT systems that will revolutionize the eligibility and…

  • Medical Homes: Local Focus, Better Health

    As policymakers across the country look to balance their budgets, some are turning to Medicaid, recycling the same harmful policies they’ve used year-after-year: eliminating coverage for vulnerable Americans, restricting critical benefits like prescription drug coverage, imposing premiums on those who can’t afford them, and slashing already-low provider reimbursement rates. Community Catalyst and Georgetown University Health…

  • 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…

  • 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–…

  • Divide & Conquer: NC Speaker of House Tries to Pit Medicaid Beneficiaries Against One Another

    By Adam Searing, North Carolina Justice Center Usually the North Carolina Speaker of the House, Thom Tillis, presents himself as a moderate, business-friendly Republican.  Even as his party has enacted the largest cuts in the history of NC’s Medicaid program, he’s managed to keep the focus at local meetings around the state where he has…