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Eligibility & Enrollment

  • Health Insurance for Immigrant Families

    CCFadmin

    The webinar examines changes in health reform law and regulations that affect the eligibility of immigrants and the access barriers they face, particularly when part of mixed-status families. It also looks at which rules have not changed, showing a snapshot of the landscape of coverage options for immigrant families as of 2013. Download the recording

  • How Have Immigrant Families Fared (So Far) Under Health Reform?

    CCFadmin

    By Dinah Wiley Immigrant families are among the most in need of health reform, with high rates of uninsurance and poverty despite employment rates as high as those of citizen-headed households.  How will these families fare under health reform?  Though a few federal rules are still undecided, we can safely say that many non-citizens will…

  • Update: 12-Month Continuous Eligbility Can Improve Continuity of Coverage

    Karina Wagnerman

    Last month, I wrote a blog post on a report released on the continuity of coverage in Medicaid. This week, the Association for Community Affiliated Plans released an updated report on why continuity of coverage in Medicaid matters. Continuity of coverage reduces cost and is the first step in getting quality health care. The typical…

  • 12-Month Continuous Eligibility Can Improve Continuity of Coverage

    Karina Wagnerman

    Back in May, Martha Heberlein wrote about 5 strategies that CMS is offering to help states face the task of enrolling large numbers of people on January 1, 2014.  One of these strategies, 12-month continuous eligibility for adults, is key to improving the continuity of Medicaid coverage, according to a paper published by the Association…

  • CMS Issues More Guidance on Stairstep Kids

    CCFadmin

    By Wesley Prater As Tricia Brooks highlighted in her previous blog, CMS recently released a set of FAQs to provide more guidance on telephonic applications, MAGI-based eligibility, Medicaid and CHIP eligibility, and the 75/25 Federal matching rate. The FAQs included more guidance about the transition of children ages 6-18 up to 133% of the FPL…

  • Nevada and West Virginia Latest to Remove CHIP Waiting Periods

    Joan Alker

    As we have blogged before we were hoping that CMS was going to prohibit states operating separate state CHIP program from imposing waiting periods for children. But they didn’t, and the choice continues to fall squarely in the state’s purview. Last week we learned that two more states, Nevada and West Virginia, are now moving…

  • Tech Tuesday: HHS Provides Guiding Principles for Telephone Applications

    Tricia Brooks

    “No wrong door,” a phrase coined to explain access to all the insurance affordability programs (Medicaid, CHIP and subsidized coverage through a Health Insurance Marketplace) through a single application process, is also often used to describe the different paths to enrollment. Beginning October 1, 2013, states are expected to allow individuals to apply online, over…

  • Hospitals Should Exercise the Option to Enroll Kids in Medicaid through Presumptive Eligibility

    Tricia Brooks

    Among many other provisions, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) gives hospitals the prerogative to make Medicaid presumptive eligibility (PE) decisions, regardless of whether the state has previously implemented PE. Presumptive eligibility allows states to train specific “qualified entities,” such as health care providers, schools, government agencies and community-based organizations, to screen for eligibility and temporarily…

  • How Will Aligning Eligibility for Children in Medicaid Make Better Sense for Families and States?

    CCFadmin

    By Wesley Prater The Affordable Care Act is most widely recognized for its expansion of affordable coverage to low-income parents and adults; however, a lesser-known feature of the ACA also helps children by aligning Medicaid coverage across families at 133% of the federal poverty level (FPL). Today, states must cover children under the age of…

  • Aligning Eligibility for Children: Moving the Stairstep Kids to Medicaid

    CCFadmin

    A feature of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that has not received a lot of attention requires that Medicaid cover children with incomes up to 133 percent FPL as of January 2014.  Today, there are “stairstep” eligibility rules for children. States must cover children under the age of six in families with income of at…

  • CHIP Lock Outs May Leave Kids Without Premium Tax Credits, Too

    CCFadmin

    By Joe Touschner As Tricia Brooks wrote last week, new rules set limits on how states handle lock out periods for children enrolled in CHIP.  Several states impose a lock out period—a length of time when a child may not receive CHIP coverage—when families fail to pay CHIP premiums.  The new rules limit lock out…

  • New Rules Set Limits on Locking Kids Out of Coverage for Nonpayment of Premiums

    Tricia Brooks

    Thirty-three (33) states charge premiums or enrollment fees for children enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP, starting as low as 101% of the federal poverty level in CHIP. In the past, federal guidelines for dealing with premium grace periods and nonpayment of premiums were minimal, particularly in CHIP. It was not until CHIP was reauthorized in…

  • Children’s Medicaid/CHIP Crowd-Out Estimates by State

    Karina Wagnerman

    A new report by researchers at The Ohio State University College of Public Health finds that wealthier families who are eligible for public insurance are less likely to switch from private to public coverage than families earning less. The authors use ACS data and a regression discontinuity approach to obtain state estimates on how many…

  • New Kaiser/Urban Report Highlights the Costs of NOT Extending Medicaid

    CCFadmin

    By Martha Heberlein As many states are nearing or have reached the end of their legislative sessions, it’s a good time to take stock of who will implement the Medicaid expansion and the far-reaching implications of these decisions. Twenty-four states have decided to move forward with the expansion, 21 will not, and 6 continue to…

  • Health Reform Rule Will Change Not Stop Income Verification

    Guest

    By Judy Solomon, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities In the last several days, some media coverage has seriously misinterpreted changes to how health reform’s new health insurance marketplaces (formerly called exchanges) will verify that applicants are eligible for federal health insurance subsidies.  The changes to verification procedures, which the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)…

  • Outreach Grant Will Help California Advocates Connect More Kids to Coverage

    Guest

    By Suzie Shupe and Edgar Aguilar, California Coverage and Health Initiatives California is the most populous state in the union and home to more than 13 percent of the nation’s uninsured children. Since coverage is essential for making sure children reach their full potential, California Coverage & Health Initiatives (CCHI) is honored to receive a…

  • All Eyes on States – Time to Say Goodbye to CHIP Waiting Periods

    Elisabeth Wright Burak

    As states are rushing to get their enrollment and eligibility systems in top form going into 2014, HHS just handed them one more critical decision to make: getting rid of outdated CHIP waiting periods. Say Ahhh! readers know that eliminating CHIP waiting periods— or the period of time that a child must remain uninsured before…

  • Our Initial Take on Today’s Final Medicaid, CHIP, Exchange Rule

    Tricia Brooks

    I’m holding the fort down at CCF while most of my colleagues get a few well-deserved days off. But unfortunately that means I drew the short straw for a first look at final Medicaid and Exchange regulations released on this hot, humid day wedged between a national holiday and what could be a long weekend.…

  • Connecting Kids to Coverage Grants Announced

    Tricia Brooks

    The third round of Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment Grants were announced today. A total of $32 million was awarded in 22 states to 41 grantees, which include state and local governments, tribal organizations, community groups, schools, health care providers and other organizations. Grants were targeted in the states with the largest numbers of…

  • Translating MAGI to Current Monthly Income Will Be Particularly Important for Kids in Medicaid and CHIP

    Tricia Brooks

    It’s helpful for all Medicaid and CHIP stakeholders to generally understand that starting in January 2014 there will be new ways to count income and household size to determine Medicaid eligibility based on the new ACA rules. While not everyone needs to dive into these policy weeds, there are a number of reasons it’s important…