How Medicaid and CHIP Can Support Student Success through Schools
Seventh in a series of briefs on the future of children’s health care coverage Summary Recognizing that a healthy student is a better student, education and health officials have begun working closely in the past few years to integrate their efforts. Recent changes to federal education law, new grant programs and revised Medicaid rules have […]
Who’s Minding the Store for Tennessee Children Relying on Medicaid and CHIP?
When I began my career as a children’s advocate in the 90s, Tennessee led the nation in the percentage of its children with health insurance. It was a proud moment for our poor Southern state that was brought about by the vision and political effectiveness of Democrat Governor Ned Ray McWhether and by the courage […]
Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility, Enrollment, and Cost Sharing Policies as of January 2019: Findings from a 50-State Survey
Judge Blocks Arkansas and Kentucky Medicaid Work Requirement Waivers: What Does This Decision Mean for Other States?
Under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), federal agencies may not take actions that are “arbitrary or capricious.” If they do, federal courts are instructed to hold the action unlawful and set it aside. Late yesterday afternoon, that’s exactly what Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia did with […]
Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility, Enrollment, and Cost Sharing Policies as of January 2019: Findings from a 50-State Survey
Executive Summary This 17th annual survey of the 50 states and the District of Columbia (DC) provides data on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) eligibility, enrollment, renewal, and cost sharing policies as of January 2019. It is based on a telephone survey of state Medicaid and CHIP officials conducted by the Kaiser […]
Hot Off the Press: Annual KFF 50-State Survey on Medicaid
This 17th annual KFF survey and key resource for Medicaid stakeholders reports eligibility, enrollment, renewal and cost-sharing policies in place as of January 2019 for children, pregnant women, parent/caretakers, and low-income adults in Medicaid and CHIP. Like the previous year, for the most part states continued to refine their efforts in delivering a streamlined, data-driven […]
How Would Utah’s Medicaid Partial Expansion Waiver Break New Ground if Approved
Utah’s legislature recently passed a bill which rolled back the Medicaid expansion passed by the voters in November and substituted a much weaker replacement. With the Governor planning to start enrollment on April 1st into the more limited version, we expect some action by CMS on Utah’s pending Medicaid Section 1115 proposal in the next […]
More News on T-MSIS – Medicaid’s Transformed Statistical Information System
Say Ahhh! readers know I’ve been following the development of CMS’ new Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) for…well…years. The last news we got on T-MSIS was last August when CMS released a State Health Officer Letter detailing its top 12 priorities for states, which I summarized in this blog. Recently, CMS issued a new […]
2019 Medicaid and CHIP Snapshot Data Sources
Name of CHIP Program Kaiser Family Foundation, CHIP Program Name and Type, State Health Facts (as of May 1, 2015). Please note that effective 2013 the former California CHIP program,California Healthy Families Program has been converted into Medi-Cal. Type of CHIP Program Kaiser Family Foundation, CHIP Program Name and Type, State Health Facts (as of May 1, 2015). Number […]
Evaluating the Administration’s Narrative on Medicaid Work Reporting Requirements
It turns out that last week was Never Mind Week. Who would have guessed? On Monday the Administration released its “Budget for a Better America,” proposing to cut federal Medicaid spending by nearly $1.5 trillion (with a “t”) over the next ten years. These cuts included a mandate that state Medicaid programs require that “able-bodied, […]
Four Steps to Improve Children’s Oral Health Care in Medicaid and CHIP
Our partners at the Children’s Dental Health Project (CDHP) released a great report recently called, “Medicaid Dental Guidance to States: An Opportunity to Aim for Equity,” highlighting how states, managed care organizations (MCOs), providers, and advocates can work to improve dental care for children covered by Medicaid and CHIP. The report draws from CMS guidance […]
Early Childhood
A child’s brain develops most rapidly in the earliest years of life, building the foundation for learning, behavior and health. Medicaid, along with CHIP, serves four out of five young children in low-income families, serving as a logical place to reach these children and their families before kindergarten. Prioritizing young children and their families in […]
Many Unanswered Questions about Trump Budget’s CHIP Financing Proposal
The Trump Administration’s fiscal year 2020 budget, released on March 11, includes a single legislative proposal (described here) related to the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Entitled “Strengthen the CHIP Safety Net for States,” the proposal would eliminate the CHIP’s Child Enrollment Contingency Fund in fiscal year 2021 and replace it with a new Shortfall […]
Missouri is No. 1 for drop in child enrollment in public health
St. Louis Post Dispatch By: Michael Ollove The number of children enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP — two government health plans for the poor — fell by nearly 600,000 in the first 11 months of 2018, a precipitous drop that has puzzled and alarmed many health policy analysts, while […]
Trump Budget Includes Harmful Medicaid Drug Rebate Proposal, Several Sound Improvements
On March 11, the Trump Administration released its fiscal year 2020 budget. As my colleague Andy Schneider has written, the Administration budget plan would repeal the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion, impose a per capita cap or block grant on the rest of the Medicaid program, require all states to adopt onerous work reporting requirements […]
CMS Announces Reorganization of Offices Overseeing Medicaid and CHIP
CMS recently announced a reorganization of the regional and central offices that oversee Medicaid and CHIP. It’s too soon to tell how the re-org will impact the day-to-day operations of Medicaid and CHIP, but the federal register notice says that the new structure will support consistent policy implementation and accountability. You may not have even […]
Child Enrollment in Public Health Programs Fell by 600K Last Year
Stateline By: Michael Ollove The number of kids enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) — two government health plans for the poor — fell by nearly 600,000 in the first 11 months of 2018, a precipitous drop that has puzzled and alarmed many health policy analysts, while several states say it […]
Why are more families losing children’s health insurance coverage?
The Inquirer By: David Rubin At the start of each new year, I find myself reflecting on how my pediatric practice is changing. Now that I have been practicing for more than 20 years, one of the biggest developments is that some of the children I cared for at the start of my career are […]
Nevada Medicaid’s Pediatric Benefits Promote Healthy Development for Children
Below is a description of sources used for data reported on the factsheet, “Nevada Medicaid’s Pediatric Benefits Promote Healthy Development for Children,” provided by Georgetown University Center for Children and Families (CCF). EPSDT Services Section 1905(r)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act. For a full description of EPSDT coverage, see Department of Health and Human Services, […]