Search Results for “assister” – Page 30 – Center For Children and Families

How Can States Better Protect Consumers from Unexpected Health Care Charges?

Even when consumers do their best to obtain services from providers in their health plan’s network, they may still face unexpected charges. Unexpected bills may show up when a consumer goes to a network hospital for emergency care, but is treated by a physician or other health professional who is not in the health plan’s…

June 15, 2015

By

Jack Hoadley

Say Ahhh!

Sustained Outreach is a Key to Success in Connecting Uninsured Kids to Coverage

Medicaid and CHIP have been instrumental in driving the uninsured rate for children to all time low. In recent years, however, this progress has stalled nationally and even reversed in some states. It’s no secret that sustained outreach is key to success in connecting uninsured kids to coverage. So we were particularly pleased that Congress…

May 29, 2015

By

Tricia Brooks

Say Ahhh!

What, Exactly, is in that CHIP Extension?

It’s hard to believe it was just last month when Congress passed and President Obama signed the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015, which extended CHIP funding for two additional years with no major structural or program changes. It funds the ACA’s 23%-point bump, extends CHIPRA’s child health quality provisions and outreach/enrollment…

May 27, 2015

By

Elisabeth Wright Burak

Research & Reports

Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015: Summary of Key Provisions Impacting Children

On April 16th, President Obama signed into law the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA), now Public Law 114-10, which provides new federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through 2017 and permanently adjusts the flawed Medicare physician payment formula to prevent cuts in reimbursements to Medicare providers. It also extends…

May 27, 2015

By

Elisabeth Wright Burak

Say Ahhh!

GAO Report: Small Share of Medicaid Beneficiaries Account for Large Share of Cost

According to a study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) – a congressional watchdog tasked with reporting on government programs for Congress – a small subset of Medicaid beneficiaries account for a disproportionately large share of Medicaid expenditures. Medicaid covers the very vulnerable populations of low-income people – many with disabilities – with high health…

May 18, 2015

By

Alisa Chester

Say Ahhh!

Florida’s Medicaid Budget: Just the Facts

In Florida, as in other states, there is a great deal of misinformation about how much the state pays for Medicaid. The program is jointly administered by both states and the federal government, and the feds pay for a majority of Medicaid’s costs in all states. However, some of Medicaid’s opponents obscure the federal government’s…

April 29, 2015

By

Alisa Chester

Say Ahhh!

New and Improved! A Special Enrollment Period for Some Caught in Medicaid Coverage Gap

As part of our Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded Navigator Technical Assistance project, we’ve helped Navigators and assisters answer tough questions from consumers. Many questions focused on special enrollment periods (SEPs), including a new “tax season” SEP that applied to individuals who learned about the requirement to have coverage only when they found out they were…

April 27, 2015

By

JoAnn Volk

Say Ahhh!

Healthcare.gov Fixes System Glitch in Counting Social Security Income for Certain Tax Dependents

Earlier this week, Health Affairs ran a lengthy blog I wrote about how Healthcare.gov incorrectly counts Social Security income for tax dependents who are not required to file taxes. Policy experts and enrollment assisters had suspected the system glitch existed for some time before CMS confirmed the error in early March. Thankfully, the problem is…

April 21, 2015

By

Tricia Brooks

Say Ahhh!

Permanent 90% Federal Funding for IT Systems Is a Must For States to Achieve Medicaid Modernization

Medicaid modernization is a popular term used by states to describe how they are moving into the digital age to streamline eligibility and enrollment and improve operational efficiency. Technology is at the center of this transformation but the fact that many states have held on to 30-year old mainframe systems suggests that states won’t keep…

April 21, 2015

By

Tricia Brooks

Say Ahhh!

Navigator Grants for OE3 Announced

Today, CMS released the funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for a new round of navigator grants. As noted in my blog earlier this week, these grants will be awarded for a period of three years unlike annual awards in the prior two grant rounds. A total of $67 million will be awarded in the first year,…

April 15, 2015

By

Tricia Brooks

Say Ahhh!

3-Year Navigator Grants Will Provide Stability to Enrollment Assistance

A recent posting of a Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) notice in the federal register details plans by CMS to tweak navigator entity reporting requirements, which I’ll say more about in a few minutes. But what really excited me about the notice – drumroll please – is that, in the supporting statement, CMS signaled its intent…

April 13, 2015

By

Tricia Brooks

Say Ahhh!

The Affordable Care Act and Entrepreneurship

By Sean Miskell This week, numerous media outlets reported that Senator Ted Cruz may sign up for health coverage through the insurance marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). While the Washington Post calls this development the “irony of all ironies” given Cruz’s seemingly unrelenting opposition to the ACA, this is exactly the kind…

March 27, 2015

Say Ahhh!

House Passes 2 Year CHIP Extension Included in ‘SGR’ Compromise Deal

Editor’s Note UPDATE: Yesterday, the House passed this SGR-CHIP package, H.R.2, by a tremendous bipartisan vote (392-37-4). Despite attempts by Senate leadership to get a vote to the floor before their recess, it looks like they will be taking the package up when they return April 13th. Stay tuned… We’ve all been watching developments on…

March 27, 2015

By

Elisabeth Wright Burak

Say Ahhh!

ACA Turns Five: Reflecting on the Past and Looking Forward to the Future

By Sean Miskell Since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) became law five years ago today, health reform has unfolded in fits and starts amid political opposition and staggered implementation of its insurance market reforms and coverage expansions. But as a result of these occasionally frantic first years of implementation, children and families now have improved…

March 23, 2015

Say Ahhh!

Florida Consumer Reporter Takes on Complicated Task of Explaining the Coverage Gap

Say Ahhh! is excited to welcome Florida Legal Services to the health policy blogosphere. The new blog will focus on issues surrounding the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid expansion, and Medicaid Managed Care in Florida. Contributors include staff members working on health law throughout the state of Florida. Please check out this fantastic new resource for those…

March 17, 2015

By

Cathy Hope

Say Ahhh!

Confused About What Happens at Tax Time (Part Two)? People in Immigrant Families

Now that we are knee-deep in tax season, we have heard reports of confusion about new tax filing rules related to health coverage for people in immigrant families. Here are some of the common questions we’ve heard so far and our answers. Q: Are noncitizens subject to the tax penalty (or the individual shared responsibility…

March 12, 2015

By

Sonya Schwartz

Say Ahhh!

Confused about What Happens at Tax Time? FAQs on Penalties, Exemptions, Reconciliation, and SEPs:

By Tricia Brooks, Sandy Ahn, Sabrina Corlette, and JoAnn Volk As part of our Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded work in providing technical assistance to consumer assisters in five states, we are getting a lot of questions about issues related to tax time and health coverage. Here are some of the common questions and answers.…

March 9, 2015

By

Tricia Brooks

,

JoAnn Volk

and

Sabrina Corlette

Say Ahhh!

Many Qualify for Affordability Exemption to Tax Penalty

With funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we at Georgetown’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms and the Center for Children and Families have been providing technical assistance to Navigators and assisters in a handful of states, helping answer the questions they receive from consumers. As the second open enrollment period (OE2) winds down and attention turns…

February 23, 2015

By

JoAnn Volk

Say Ahhh!

Critiquing the Performance as the Curtain Closes on OE2

A big round of applause as the curtain drops at the end of the second open enrollment period for the health insurance marketplaces with more than 11 million people signing up at the box office. OE2, as it’s affectionately called, was part sequel, part new production. Throughout its run, which was just over half the…

February 20, 2015

By

Tricia Brooks

Say Ahhh!

Answers to Tough Q’s from Navigators, Assisters, Brokers, Tax Advisors About ACA Coverage

[Editor’s Note: Open Enrollment is officially closed but HHS announced that those trying to enroll on February 15 may be eligible for an extension until February 22. ] By JoAnn Volk, Tricia Brooks, Sabrina Corlette and Sandy Ahn As open enrollment (often called “OE2”) for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act draws to a…

February 18, 2015

By

JoAnn Volk

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