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 Medicaid through cross-sector, innovative practice change has the potential to improve their lifetime trajectories, overall population health and long-run savings. Through blog posts, papers, and resources, CCF seeks to highlight ways Medicaid can do more to set our nation’s youngest children on a path of healthy physical, social, and emotional development.
Medicaid Managed Care: Transparency for Young Children in 12 States
Regular Say Ahhh! readers know that most children covered by Medicaid in most states received their coverage through private insurance companies, or managed care organizations (MCOs). We believe that publicly-available data on Medicaid managed care performance is key to fully understanding how well Medicaid MCOs are working for children. Consistent, MCO-level data helps identify gaps […]
Are Children Receiving the Full Protection of Medicaid’s Pediatric Benefit Package?
Medicaid covers over 30 million children, or about 40 percent of all children. Medicaid covers disproportionately large shares of low-income children, children of color, and children with special health care needs. Medicaid law and policy necessarily impact children, oftentimes children who would be uninsured or underinsured without it. Children with Medicaid coverage are entitled to […]
CMS Approves Five More States to Adopt Medicaid Multi-Year Continuous Coverage for Young Children As Threats to Coverage Loom
Yesterday, CMS approved a set of another five state 1115 waiver demonstration applications to adopt multi-year continuous eligibility for children in Medicaid. Four states (Hawaii, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania) were approved to adopt continuous eligibility for children in Medicaid from birth to age 6; Colorado was approved to implement for children up to age […]
New Guidance from CMS Lifts Up Medicaid’s EPSDT Pediatric Benefit
Last month, CMS released a state health official (SHO) letter outlining the requirements states and managed care plans must meet under Medicaid’s pediatric benefit, known as Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment or EPSDT. The EPSDT SHO also describes some strategies and identifies best practices currently in use by states to meet the various […]
States Make Strides, Share Lessons in Financing Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health
By: Alex Busuito In the first five years of life, children develop the social, emotional, and cognitive capacities that are the foundation for lifelong health and wellbeing. A significant financial investment in a robust system of care to support the mental health of babies, young children, and their caregivers goes a long way towards increasing […]
CMS Issues Guidance to States on Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment Requirements
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released much-anticipated guidance on Medicaid’s Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT) requirements. For those who don’t live in Medicaid jargon land, EPSDT is the pediatric benefit in Medicaid and establishes a higher standard for children than adults covered by Medicaid. Most, but not all, […]