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Eligibility & Enrollment

  • New Report Finds ACA Had Little Impact on Employer Sponsored Health Plan Enrollment

    Cathy Hope

    The Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate on large businesses barely had an impact on enrollment in employer-sponsored health plan enrollment in the past year, according to a new survey released by Mercer, a human resources consulting firm. Between 2014 and 2105, employers reported very little change regarding the average number of full- and part-time workers…

  • What’s at stake without a quick, clean renewal of CHIP funding? Our historic success covering kids.

    Elisabeth Wright Burak

    A timely analysis from our friends at the Urban Institute this week quantifies the high stakes of the current deal making around CHIP. The outcome, along with the looming Supreme Court decision, will determine whether we move backwards on our success covering children or maintain the strong system of coverage that has successfully served low-income…

  • States Can’t Always Be Relied On To Do The Right Thing For Kids

    Joan Alker

    By Joan Alker and Sean Miskell, As Congress continues to mull over the future of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, we at CCF continue to mull over the policy implications for children of various proposals put forth. As regular readers of Say Ahhh! know, a recently released discussion draft by Senator Hatch, and Reps Upton…

  • Expansions of Medicaid for Pregnant Women Foster Healthy Development into Adulthood

    Tricia Brooks

    By Sophia Duong and Tricia Brooks In an earlier blog post, we discussed how cutting Medicaid eligibility for pregnant women is a short-sighted policy decision. There are a number of negative consequences that arise in the short-term for pregnant women and newborn babies. And now, we know that there could also be significant long-term consequences.…

  • “Stairstep” Children Moved from CHIP to Medicaid Receive Better, More Affordable Coverage

    CCFadmin

    The Affordable Care Act (ACA) aligned coverage for more than half a million low-income, school-aged children in 22 states that were previously covered under different programs. Prior to 2014, state Medicaid programs were required to cover children of different age groups at different minimum income eligibility thresholds. Young children under age six with family incomes up…

  • ‘State Flexibility’ Proposals in Hatch-Upton-Pitts CHIP Discussion Draft Puts Kids Coverage at Very Serious Risk

    Joan Alker

    The discussion draft on how to extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) recently released by Republican leaders includes a number of provisions that will put children at significant risk of losing their CHIP coverage and becoming uninsured if these proposals were to become law. I blogged about the discussion draft in some detail last…

  • King v Burwell Could Undermine Coverage For Children: One More Reason Why We Need CHIP Funding Renewed Quickly

    Sonya Schwartz

    Most of the conversation about the King v Burwell case has focused on which states would be affected, what would happen to insurance markets, or how many people would become uninsured as a result. But there’s one thing almost no one is talking about: how the decision might affect children’s coverage and why it’s another…

  • Making Kids Wait for Coverage Makes No Sense in a Reformed Health System

    CCFadmin

    Waiting periods make no sense when the goal is to create near universal access to continuous coverage and families are penalized for not having insurance. Given the administrative complexity of transitioning children between coverage options, it is virtually impossible to ensure that they will not face a gap in coverage. To this end, 20 of…

  • Why Should Pregnancy Trigger an SEP? The Risks and Impact of going without Prenatal Care

    CCFadmin

    As OE2 comes to a close, we are thinking more and more about the particulars when it comes to Special Enrollment Periods (SEP) and who may qualify in the upcoming months. SEPs provide an opportunity for individuals to enroll in health insurance after a major life-changing events such as getting married, moving, losing a job,…

  • Critiquing the Performance as the Curtain Closes on OE2

    Tricia Brooks

    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…

  • Utah Parents and Families Would Benefit from Medicaid Expansion

    CCFadmin

    Working parents would receive significant help with health insurance costs if Utah moves forward with Governor Gary Herbert’s Healthy Utah plan, according to new research by Utah Voices for Children and Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families. More than two-thirds (68%) of the low-income uninsured parents that could benefit from the Healthy Utah plan…

  • OE2: A Round Up of Questions from Consumer Assisters During the Second Year of the Affordable Care Act

    JoAnn Volk

    As part of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded project providing technical assistance to navigators and assisters in five states with federally run marketplaces, a joint team of experts from Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms and the Center for Children and Families have received a broad range of questions since open enrollment began…

  • Cuts to Medicaid Pregnancy Coverage: Penny Wise and Pound Foolish

    Tricia Brooks

    By Tricia Brooks and Sophia Duong, Maryland and Ohio are considering rolling back Medicaid coverage for pregnant women. Currently, Maryland’s eligibility level is at 259% FPL, and Ohio’s eligibility threshold rests at 200% FPL (not including the standard 5 percentage point disregard). Governors Hogan and Kasich’s proposed budgets cut these eligible income levels, but how…

  • Getting MAGI Right: Current Monthly Income vs. Projected Annual Income

    Tricia Brooks

    Last week, we released a primer on the basics of MAGI – how rules for counting household size and income to determine eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP have been aligned with Marketplace subsidies. The move to MAGI has brought about a number of changes but to further complicate things, there are some differences that apply…

  • Getting MAGI Right: Changes to Income Counting Rules in Medicaid and CHIP

    Tricia Brooks

    Last week, we released a primer on the basics of MAGI – how rules for counting household size and income to determine eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP have been aligned with Marketplace subsidies. The move to MAGI has brought about a number of changes in Medicaid and CHIP, but to further complicate things, there are…

  • How Do Updated 2015 Federal Poverty Level Thresholds Impact Medicaid, CHIP & Premium Tax Credit Eligibility?

    Tricia Brooks

    Over the weekend, Healthcare.gov uploaded the new 2015 federal poverty levels (FPL) to use in assessing eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP. What does this mean to consumers applying for coverage? Let’s start with eligibility for Marketplace subsidies. For 2015 calendar year coverage, regardless of when someone applies or enrolls, eligibility is based on the 2014…

  • Getting MAGI Right: When Does Social Security Income Count?

    Tricia Brooks

    Last week, we released a primer on the basics of MAGI – how rules for counting household size and income to determine eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP have been aligned with Marketplace subsidies. The move to MAGI has brought about a number of changes in Medicaid and CHIP, but to further complicate things, there are…

  • Millions Gain Coverage Through Affordable Care Act – What’s Medicaid Got to Do With It?

    Alisa Chester

    Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released Medicaid enrollment data that sheds light into how many people have gained Medicaid coverage though the Affordable Care Act. According to CMS, more than 3.2 million Medicaid beneficiaries were able to sign up for Medicaid in 22 expansion states because they fell into the…

  • Need Help Learning Eligibility Rules and Application Process for Families with Immigrants?

    Sonya Schwartz

    With less than two weeks left until the end of Open Enrollment two, assisters are racing to get everyone covered, including families with immigrants, often among the most difficult cases.  I recently had a chance to help train more than 800 consumer assisters about how to overcome barriers to eligibility and enrollment for health coverage programs…

  • Getting MAGI Right: An Assisters Worksheet for Determining Household Size in Medicaid and CHIP

    Tricia Brooks

    Last week, we released a primer on the basics of MAGI – how rules for counting household size and income to determine eligibility for Medicaid and CHIP have been aligned with Marketplace subsidies. The move to MAGI has brought about a number of changes, but to further complicate things, there are some differences that apply…