Financing
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MEDICAID MATTERS: Arizona Section 1115 Waiver Request Sets a New Low
I recently pulled out my copy of the Social Security Act to reread Section 1115 which provides the Secretary of Health and Human Services with the authority to permit waivers of certain rules of the Medicaid program. These projects were conceived of by Congressional drafters as “demonstration projects” or “experimental pilots” which “in the judgment…
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Getting To the Finish Line: Investments in State-Based Advocacy Show Real Returns in Covering Uninsured Children
By Liane Wong and Eugene Lewit, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation Even though last week seemed like it was all about the run-up to the Super Bowl, many of us in the nation had another cause to celebrate. February 4, 2011 was the second anniversary of the reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program…
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A Better Way – Secretary Sebelius Offers Alternatives to Canceling Coverage
By Jocelyn Guyer As we blogged a few weeks ago, the nation’s Republican governors have sent a letter to Congress asking for the stability protections included in the Affordable Care Act to be revoked. The debate already has turned ugly, with these Governors asserting that the stability protections are “unconscionable” and leave them with no choice…
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If We’re Going to Use Numbers, Can They At Least Be the Right Ones?
By Martha Heberlein While there have been many arguments related to the stability protections (aka the maintenance-of-effort requirements) that irk me due a skewing of the issues (such as the lack of “flexibility” states have in their Medicaid programs), one in particular has been driving me crazy. We at CCF have long tried to get…
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Groups Support Rule to Upgrade Medicaid Enrollment Systems
By Jocelyn Guyer Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families (CCF), along with more than 200 other organizations, joined together to submit comments to CMS in support of a proposed rule that would provide 90% matching funding for state Medicaid eligibility system upgrades. Organizations participating in this effort represented 41 states and the District of…
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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Filling Budget Gaps in Medicaid
With the opening of state legislative sessions, we are beginning to see how states are proposing to deal with ongoing shortfalls in state revenues coupled with the loss of additional federal financial support for Medicaid from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). There is no dispute that states will continue to face difficult budget…
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HHS Announces Funding Opportunity to Help States Build Exchanges
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced that states can now apply for grants to “establish” their Health Insurance Exchanges under the Affordable Care Act. These grants follow the Exchange “planning” grants awarded last September to 49 states, including DC, and will provide states with ongoing resources to move beyond planning and begin…
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Will Shadow Still Loom Over Affordable Care Act on Groundhog Day?
By Jocelyn Guyer I’m feeling a bit like Bill Murray in the movie classic “Groundhog Day” as I brace myself for another round of debate on health reform. (It’s like déjà vu all over again!) As the real Groundhog Day approaches, Members of Congress will likely be in the midst of discussing health reform as…
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John Bouman Supports IL Revenue Package
During a lame duck session, the Illinois General Assembly approved a temporary increase in the state income tax along with a series of spending restrictions designed to bring financial stability to the state. The passage of the revenue package is the culmination of the efforts of the Responsible Budget Coalition, an unprecedented coalition of anti-poverty,…
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Block Grant No Solution for Rising Medicaid Costs
By Edwin Park, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities In the intensifying debate over cutting federal spending, troubling proposals to block-grant Medicaid or otherwise cap its funding are getting new attention. For example, Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), the new Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has already discussed block-granting Medicaid with some governors.…
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Holding Steady, Looking Ahead
By Martha Heberlein Over the past year, as the nation’s attention was focused on the country’s economic problems and the debate over the passage of broader health care reform, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) continued to play their vital role of providing coverage to millions of people who otherwise lack affordable coverage…
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States Should Seek a Balanced Approach to Maintaining Medicaid
By Jocelyn Guyer The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the nation’s incoming Republican governors (and four of those who are on their way out) are releasing a letter today asking Congress to dismantle the protections in the Affordable Care Act for low-income Americans aimed at holding Medicaid and CHIP coverage steady until health reform…
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Medicaid for Minnesotans Means a Happy New Year
Christina Wessel, Minnesota Budget ProjectDeputy Director Minnesotans have great cause for celebrating in the New Year. This Wednesday, Minnesota’s new governor, Mark Dayton, will take immediate action to help some of the state’s most vulnerable residents access health care. The move will take advantage of a provision in the Affordable Care Act which allows Minnesota…
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Experts Opine on the Future of Medicaid
By Joe Touschner The New York Times’ “Room for Debate” feature recently addressed a topic near and dear to those of us concerned with the health of low-income children and families: the future of Medicaid. Six participants from across the ideological spectrum weighed in on how the nation should address the challenges faced by this…
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CMS Releases Guidance on the Extension of Enhanced FMAP Funding
By Martha Heberlein On August 10th, President Obama signed an extension of the state fiscal relief first authorized under ARRA. Under the extension, states will continue to receive a phased-out increase in their federal Medicaid matching rate through June of 2011, as opposed to it expiring at the end of this year. CMS released guidance…
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Extension of Medicaid Relief Clears Last Hurdle in Congress
By Joe Touschner We’ve been following for some time the inconsistent progress of legislation that would extend increased federal Medicaid payments to states. While versions of the legislation have previously passed both houses of Congress, the two chambers had not succeeded in making the extension law by agreeing to the same bill. Today, they have,…
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Senate Approves Enhanced Medicaid Funding; House Expected to Act Next Week
With the Senate’s approval today to extend the enhanced Medicaid matching rate (aka FMAP) until June 30, 2011, cash-strapped states and their most vulnerable residents can rest a bit easier. This measure will now return to the House of Representatives where it is expected to be approved next week. As the bipartisan National Governors’ Association (NGA)…
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States will Face Tough Choices Without Extended Medicaid Funding
By Joe Touschner As we’ve noted previously Congress has yet to reach agreement on extending the increased Medicaid funding it originally granted in the 2009 economic recovery legislation. The increased payments are scheduled to end in December 2010, but most state budgets are looking no better than they were a year and a half ago. …
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Congress Gives States Little to Celebrate at the Fiscal New Year
By Joe Touschner When I served as an aide in the Ohio Legislature, an annual tradition was the Rockin’ Fiscal New Year’s Eve Party, held on June 30th as a way for staffers to mark the end of the state’s fiscal year (and every other year, the end of a grueling budget process). With or…
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Important Early Funding Opportunities for States Emerging from Health Reform
By Joe Touschner We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating–we don’t have to wait until 2014 to expand access to health coverage or to get started on reform efforts. Medicaid and CHIP coverage is already available to most of the nation’s uninsured kids (and it’s time to get them enrolled). Important benefits of the…