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Moving Forward on Medicaid Opportunity is the Right Thing to Do – A Partial Expansion Would Leave Too Many Behind

By Kelsey McCowan Heilman, Staff Attorney, New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty In an earlier blog post, I explained that extending Medicaid coverage to more low-income individuals and families as envisioned in the Affordable Care Act would boost New Mexico’s state coffers by about $500 million dollars. But it would do more than that.…

December 7, 2012

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Supplemental Poverty Measure Shows 16% Are Living in Poverty

By Tara Mancini This week, all around the country families will gather to celebrate Thanksgiving, a day known for eating turkey, but also for giving back to those in our communities who are in need. Over the last few years, a recession and weak economy have contributed to a rise in the percentage of people…

November 21, 2012

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CMS Announces 2013 Plans for Connecting Kids to Coverage

CMS has announced plans for continuing its efforts to engage states and stakeholders in its “Connecting Kids to Coverage” Campaign. The re-energized outreach and marketing campaign will include new toolkits, trainings/webinars, organizational and corporate partnership outreach support, earned media support and expertise in reaching key audiences. While efforts will be ongoing, the campaign will also…

November 20, 2012

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If You Build It Will They Come? Outreach Lessons from CHIP

Editor’s Note: This blog post originally appeared on the State Refor(um) By Carla Plaza, National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) If you build it will they come? If history repeats itself, they will, but not without intentional, focused efforts to reach, assist and enroll individuals and families into health care coverage. Prior to the…

November 20, 2012

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Children’s Health Coverage Gains in the States Boosted by Innovative Communications Campaign

By Gene Lewitt, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation Over the years, I’ve been part of countless strategic planning discussions that focus on the difference between the conversations around a certain issue that are taking place and the conversations advocates want to take place. There’s good reason changing public policy conversations often feels insurmountable. Completely…

November 14, 2012

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Eligibility and Enrollment Systems: An Advocate’s IT Toolkit

Efforts to improve public coverage programs have long been stymied by the prevalence of outdated IT systems that are the source of numerous consumer issues from confusing and conflicting notices to lost eligibility records to inadequate data to measure program performance. Meanwhile the state of technology and web-based services has advanced significantly, leaving many Medicaid…

November 13, 2012

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In-Person Assistors May Look a Lot Like Navigators

Quietly embedded in the June 29, 2012 update of the exchange establishment grant funding opportunity announcement (FOA) was a new category of consumer assistance – in person assistance (IPA). While federal officials haven’t been completely mum about this announcement, we have yet to see anything in writing (beyond what’s in the FOA and exchange blueprint)…

November 5, 2012

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FOA-Blueprint navigators vs. in-person assistance

November 5, 2012

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Cathy Hope

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First Focus and Save the Children Issue Report on America’s Children

Actress Jennifer Garner was joined on stage with former Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), First Focus President Bruce Lesley, and Save the Children Senior Vice President Mark Shriver on Wednesday, October 10th for the release of America’s Report Card 2012: Children in the United States, a national report card issued by First…

November 5, 2012

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Final Rule Approves Pay Raise for Medicaid Primary Care Services

Starting in January 2013 and extending through December 2014, physicians and practitioners (such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners) will receive reimbursement for Medicaid primary care services comparable to those paid for Medicare. As I noted in this blog when the proposed rule was released, primary care is one of our best buys in health…

November 2, 2012

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Media Coverage

Georgia must take better care of at-risk children

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer October 30, 2012 Between 2009 and 2011, the number of Georgia children not covered by any kind of health insurance fell by almost 45,000. When thousands of the state’s most vulnerable citizens have access to health care they didn’t have before, that’s good news by any measure. By another measure of child welfare,…

October 30, 2012

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Medicaid Expansion: Out of the Woodwork or Onto the Welcome Mat

By Lynn Blewett, SHADAC Director (Editor’s Note: This blog originally appeared on the SHADAC blog. ) The Woodwork Effect In health policy terms, the “woodwork effect” is a phenomenon that occurs when an expansion of public program eligibility takes place (whether through federal action or a state-level initiative), and individuals who were already eligible for…

October 25, 2012

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Media Coverage

Nevada kids’ uninsured rate growing

Las Vegas Review-Journal October 25, 2012 By Jennifer Robison A new report says a big share of Nevada kids lack health insurance. But observers disagree on how to help them get coverage. The Silver State had an uninsured rate of 16.2 percent among children in 2011, well above the national rate of 7.5 percent, and…

October 25, 2012

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Media Coverage

NV Leads Nation (Again) in Numbers of Uninsured Children

Public News Service October 23, 2012 By Chris Thomas CARSON CITY, Nev. – Nevada has the highest percentage of children without health insurance in the nation, according to a new report. Just over 16 percent of Nevada kids are uninsured, and theanalysis by the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University says that is more…

October 23, 2012

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Blurriness Continues to Swirl Around Role of Navigators vs. Insurance Brokers

In July, HHS Secretary Sebelius responded to an inquiry from a group of Congressmen regarding distinctions between navigators and brokers. The Secretary’s letter clearly articulated that states cannot require navigators to be licensed insurance brokers or agents. The letter provides other helpful clarifications, as well. Unfortunately, some of the wording of the letter has spurred additional…

October 12, 2012

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Media Coverage

Medical Assistance Redetermination Process Frustrates Workers and Recipients; Produces Churn

WESA September 25, 2012 By Erika Beras Eva Bednar’s 44-year-old son Andrew is an epileptic, he has been diagnosed with intermitent explosive disorder and he is borderline intellectually disabled. This summer he was one of thousands of adults who the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare cut from its medical assistance program for the poor and disabled. Andrew…

September 25, 2012

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Creating a Job Description for Navigators

We’ve posted several blogs over the past year about how navigators will play a critical role in helping consumers connect to expanded and more affordable health coverage options. In July, we launched a new series of briefs about navigators, the first of which, “Countdown to 2014: Designing Navigator Programs to Meet the Needs of Consumers,”…

September 14, 2012

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