Don’t Forget this Chart When Reading About Ambitious State Medicaid Expansion and Reform Plans

As states move to expand Medicaid across the country, there is plenty of discussion about new and innovative ways to run state Medicaid programs. There is merit (and perhaps cost savings) in trying out new ways to coordinate and deliver care in our health system. In fact, more federal funding was announced last week to…

July 30, 2014

By

Adam Searing

Blog

Grace Periods for Failing to Pay Insurance Premiums: What Consumers Need to Know

On July 16, the Obama Administration issued guidance for insurers in the federally facilitated marketplaces (FFMs), clarifying a requirement to provide policyholders receiving premium subsidies with a grace period of up to 90 days if they fail to pay their premiums. How does the grace period work? Under federal rules, insurance companies participating on the FFMs can drop policyholders…

July 29, 2014

By

Sabrina Corlette

Blog

Seven Steps to Improve Enrollment for the Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Community

By Naomi Stark, Georgetown CCF Research Assistant The Affordable Care Act provided an enormous opportunity for coverage of many immigrant and mixed status families eligible for premium tax credits in the health insurance marketplace. However, due to a variety of enrollment barriers, many of those eligible for these critical benefits are unable to enroll. Action for…

July 23, 2014

By

Guest

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How Cities Can Reduce the Number of Uninsured Children

By Dawn Schluckebier, National League of Cities After working with 12 cities for the last six months as they developed outreach and enrollment campaigns to increase enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP, we are excited to announce that we have selected 8 cities to continue on to the third and final implementation phase of our Cities Expanding Health Access for…

July 15, 2014

By

Guest

Blog

State Restrictions on Assisters May Violate Federal Law

By Justin Giovannelli, Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms Regulations issued last month by the Department of Health and Human Services show that laws in more than a dozen states may be invalid because they go too far in restricting the work of consumer assistance personnel certified under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The…

July 1, 2014

By

Guest

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Medicaid Primary Care Payment Rate Bump Is Worth Extending

By Judy Solomon, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities An increase in Medicaid primary care payment rates that was included in health reform is scheduled to expire at the end of this year. But with the need for cost-effective Medicaid primary care rising across the country, the current physician rates should be maintained — and…

June 19, 2014

By

Guest

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HIP 2.0 – Indiana’s Version of Medicaid Expansion

(Another chapter in the unfolding saga of Round 2 of Medicaid expansion, which I call “from simplicity to complexity”.) A few weeks ago I blogged about Governor Pence’s announcement of his intention to submit a waiver request to expand his Medicaid program using “Healthy Indiana 2.0” as a starting point. The state is currently taking…

June 12, 2014

By

Joan Alker

Blog

Bill to Address Family Glitch Introduced in the Senate

By Joe Touschner The family glitch is well known to many Say Ahhh! readers: Children and spouses of workers are barred from subsidies to purchase health insurance if employer coverage for the worker is deemed affordable and is offered—at any price—to the family. CCF, along with other organizations, encouraged the Treasury Department back in 2011…

June 6, 2014

Blog

6 Million More Enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP in 2014 (and still counting)

CMS released April enrollment numbers for Medicaid and CHIP, showing a net increase in enrollment of over 6 million people. The majority of new enrollees (84%) got coverage in the 26 states and D.C that have embraced the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid. Even though Medicaid is open 24/7 year-round, the impact of outreach…

June 5, 2014

By

Tricia Brooks

Blog

Improving Enrollment for Immigrant Families Could Cut the Number of Uninsured Kids in Half

It’s hard to believe that the next open enrollment period is only 5 months away. As the federal marketplace and states work to fix enrollment challenges, it’s important to consider what groups are most likely to be uninsured and smooth their pathway to coverage. A study recently came out that makes it clear that enrollment…

June 5, 2014

By

Sonya Schwartz

Blog

Fulfilling the ACA’s Promise

There is no doubt that families are much better off than they were before the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted. Young adults, the most likely age group to be uninsured, can stay on their family’s health plan. Children with cancer will no longer exceed their annual limit on costs or max out their lifetime…

June 3, 2014

By

Tricia Brooks

Blog

Open Enrollment – Take 2

The next Marketplace open enrollment will be part sequel and part new production! With a mere 166 days until show time, there’s much to be done to get ready for the next curtain call on November 15, 2014. First, a look back is in order because there’s nothing like a full dress rehearsal to learn…

June 2, 2014

By

Tricia Brooks

Blog

Lessons Learned from CHIP Can Apply to Next Phase of ACA

By Gene Lewit The open enrollment period for Marketplace coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has ended and supporters of the legislation are finished celebrating the accomplishment of exceeding enrollment goals despite a rocky start. Nonetheless, this continues to be an important time for ACA outreach and enrollment efforts. Enrollment in Medicaid and the…

May 26, 2014

By

Guest

Blog

New Survey by Enroll America Provides Insights into ACA Implementation

A new PerryUndem survey commissioned by Enroll America and funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation contributes new information to the discussion about the Affordable Care Act. It’s a fairly extensive survey and I encourage you to read it in full if you have time. What I found most interesting was the positive response to…

May 22, 2014

By

Cathy Hope

Blog

New Rules Protect Navigators and Certified Application Counselors from Over-Reaching State Laws but Also Impose New Requirements

Last week, CMS finalized rules that were proposed in March with a few modifications, some good and some not so good. The rules impact navigators, in-person assisters and certified application counselors (CACs) (collectively known as assisters) as summarized below. 1) Pre-empting certain aspects of state laws that restrict navigator and assisters. States are not precluded…

May 21, 2014

By

Tricia Brooks

Blog

Governor Pence Announces Plans to Expand Medicaid to Hoosiers in the Coverage Gap through Healthy Indiana 2.0

In what I think is a very significant political development, Governor Mike Pence announced his intention to submit a Section 1115 Medicaid waiver proposal to the federal government by the end of June, which would extend coverage to the newly eligible parents and adults below 133% of the federal poverty line. One reason Indiana was…

May 16, 2014

By

Joan Alker

Blog

Delaying Renewals – Still an Option for States

By Martha Heberlein An option provided by CMS to states to delay renewals so that they wouldn’t be running eligibility the old and new way, has a second purpose as states face processing back logs and fixing systems glitches. Taking a step back – the ACA requires that existing beneficiaries be protected against losing coverage…

May 14, 2014

Blog

Without CHIP, Low-Income Arizona Families Face High Costs for Children’s Health Coverage

Before the Affordable Care Act (ACA) became law, Arizona began the process of dismantling its CHIP program when it froze enrollment in KidsCare in January 2010. Enrollment was temporarily reinstated in May 2012, extending coverage to 47,000 children at the peak of KidsCare II. Thanks to the ACA’s alignment of children’s Medicaid eligibility across all…

May 7, 2014

By

Tricia Brooks

Blog

Schools Play Important Role in Connecting Kids to Coverage

Donielle Rooks, CCHI Program Coordinator The idea that schools are a link to successful children and families is not new. Growing up, my parents received all types of information from my school about academics, fundraisers, before and after school programs and community organizations that helped provide basic services. Most families understood that if they had…

May 2, 2014

By

Guest

Blog

Washington State’s Network Adequacy Rules: A Step Forward for Children and Families

Washington state’s network adequacy rules, finalized yesterday, attempt to strike a balance between ensuring that consumers have access to care and allowing plans the flexibility to try innovative networks and keep costs down, but they certainly did not please everyone! Health plans have argued that the rules are administratively burdensome and onerous. Providers, including children’s…

April 29, 2014

By

Sonya Schwartz

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