Texas
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Health Care: Here’s How Many Texas Kids Are At Risk Because Of Congress
Patch By Don Johnson Nearly 9 million kids across the country rely on health insurance from CHIP, the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Although it’s not a controversial program, Congress let its funding expire Oct. 1 — and many states may soon tell millions of families that their insurance plans are ending. In Texas, 1.1 million…
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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.
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Medicaid’s “Welcome Mat” Effect Means Medicaid Expansion Helps Children Get Health Coverage
New research in the journal Health Affairs this month gives even more evidence for a parental “welcome mat” effect that increases health coverage among children already eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program when their parents become eligible as well. Simply put, moving to “whole family coverage” through a state Medicaid expansion or…
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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…
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Medicaid: The Port in a Storm for Children and Families
As Harvey and Irma remind us, natural disasters happen. And when they do, they threaten the health of children and families and the ability of providers to deliver needed services. It takes time for displaced families, providers, and communities to get back on their feet. It also takes resources. While federal Medicaid funds are always…
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Texans Lucky Gov. Abbott Didn’t Get Wish For Medicaid Block Grant, Funding Cap Critics Say
Inside Health Policy Hurricane Harvey is the kind of natural disaster opponents of Medicaid funding caps warned about, and they say it would be much more difficult to recover from Harvey if Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) got his wish for a Medicaid block grant. … “Gov. Abbott has been a proponent of Medicaid block…
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Commentary: Rural hospitals are vanishing; keep Medicaid in Texas
Austin American Statesman By Michael Williams First, there was hope for people in rural communities needing health care. As part of the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid was expanded in 31 states and the District of Columbia, offering new coverage to millions and renewed hope for rural hospitals struggling to remain financially viable — many serving…
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New Texas Law Takes Important Step Towards Healthy Moms and Babies, Medicaid’s Future Will Determine Success
By Adriana Kohler, Texans Care for Children A new Texas law recognizes the powerful link between mothers’ mental health and children’s health, development, and long-term success. And it all started with discussions at a Center for Children and Families conference last summer. Last month, after Texas lawmakers packed their bags and returned home following a…
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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…
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Federal Medicaid Cuts Would Be a Double Whammy for Vulnerable Young Children in Texas
Lately, we’ve been laser focused on potential threats ahead at the federal level. But as state legislative sessions start anew, it’s a good reminder that policymaking swirls ahead in state capitals as well. As our friends at Texans Care for Children described, last year’s Medicaid therapy cuts in Texas are already shutting out some young children…
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New Report from Texas: Thousands of Young Kids with Disabilities Excluded from Early Intervention Amid State Cuts
By Rebecca Hornbach and Stephanie Rubin, Texans Care for Children As the President-elect and Congress consider significant changes to the way the federal government works with states to support children and families, and our state lawmakers here in Texas prepare for a legislative session with this new administration in Washington, they should consider our recent…
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1 In 5 Uninsured Children Live In Texas, Study Finds
Cleburne Times-Review By: Jessica Pounds According to the new report by Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, Texas has increased its number of insured children to 9.5% between 2013 and 2015. However, Texas’ change of 7.1% is way higher than the nationwide change. With that being said, Texas (and California) are two of the…
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A Tale of Two States: Children’s Uninsurance Rates in Texas and California
This week, we released our sixth annual report on children’s health coverage rates across the country. Overall, we found that the country is making incredible progress in reducing rates of uninsurance with the vast majority of states (41 states) experiencing a significant decline in uninsurance rates. The two states with the largest population of uninsured…
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Texas Continues To Struggle With Large Number Of Uninsured Children
The Texas Tribune By: Marissa Evans The recent report by Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families showed that Texas holds the second highest rate for uninsured children in the nation. Between 2013 and 2015, Texas only decreased from 16.6% to %9.5 — remaining above the national average for uninsured children: 4.8%. As Joan Alker,…
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Report Suggests Improved Outreach and Enrollment Efforts Directed at Very Poor Parents Needed
As I was flying back from Atlanta the other night, I read a fascinating new paper by researchers at the Urban Institute (a team led by the esteemed Genevieve Kenney), which looks at adult uninsured rates and participation rates in Medicaid. In particular, the researchers examine how the number of uninsured parents and childless adults…
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Texas Put on Notice as Medicaid Waiver Extended by Federal CMS for 15 Months
Earlier this week, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sent a letter to the state of Texas extending the state’s Section 1115 Medicaid waiver for 15 months with level funding through the end of 2017. The state of Texas promptly labelled the agreement a “big win” for Texas – but was it? Texas…
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Comments Submitted On Texas Medicaid Waiver
Georgetown CCF, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and seven other national organizations submitted a letter to CMS for public comment on Texas’ proposal to extend its Section 1115 Medicaid demonstration project, the Texas Healthcare Transformation and Quality Improvement Program. The full comments that were submitted November 16, 2015 can be found here –…
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CHIP Increases Children’s Access to Dental Care and Reduces Their Unmet Dental Care Needs
By Sophia Duong Tooth decay still remains the most common chronic disease for children in the U.S. today. Progress has been made to address this problem, including a provision in CHIPRA that expanded dental coverage for all children enrolled in CHIP. CHIP has been a vital source of dental health coverage for low-to-middle income children.…
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Report: Overlap Issuers Could Narrow Coverage Gaps, Mitigate Churn
By Margaret A. Murray, CEO and Jennifer Mcguigan Babcock, VP for Exchange Policy Association for Community Affiliated Plans Last month, our organization – the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP) – issued a study that found that about 4 in 10 organizations offering coverage through Qualified Health Plans (QHP) in Health Insurance Marketplaces operate a…
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Spread the Word: Deadline One Week Away for Immigrant Communities Needing to Verify Marketplace Eligibility
Immigrant communities face a critical deadline on Friday, September 5: submit additional documentation to verify their citizenship or immigration status, or potentially lose health coverage through the marketplace at the end of September. Yesterday we helped sponsor a press briefing primarily for ethnic media to help spread the word and educate immigrant communities about the…
