On January 31, 2014, an estimated 14,000 Arizona children lost their health coverage under KidsCare II, a temporary extension of the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). But in fact, Arizona began to dismantle its CHIP program, which provided stable, affordable coverage for uninsured children with family income at or below 200 percent of the […]
Before the Affordable Care Act (ACA) became law, Arizona began the process of dismantling its CHIP program when it froze enrollment in KidsCare in January 2010. Enrollment was temporarily reinstated in May 2012, extending coverage to 47,000 children at the peak of KidsCare II. Thanks to the ACA’s alignment of children’s Medicaid eligibility across all […]
By Joe Touschner (CCF) and Joanne Jee (NASHP) We know CHIP gives millions of children access to affordable health coverage, but what exactly does it cover? Because of the flexibility built into the CHIP law, the answer varies by state—states can choose both the benefits and the cost sharing in their separate CHIP programs, as […]
CHIP provides states with options when designing their programs. States can choose to use CHIP funds to expand their Medicaid programs, establish separate CHIP programs, or offer a mix of both types. Within broad federal rules and guidelines, states have considerable flexibility in separate CHIP programs to determine benefit packages. States also can set premium […]
As part of my colleague’s blog series on renewals, I wanted to share how hard work is paying off on Medicaid renewals in Washington state. Washington is among the first states in the country to get started on MAGI-based renewals. What are MAGI-based renewals? Just like new applications, renewals in Medicaid will be based on […]
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) envisions highly automated renewals for Medicaid and CHIP. With new eligibility systems capable of retrieving personal eligibility-related data from trusted sources, such as the state’s wage database, agencies should be able to renew coverage for most enrollees without requiring them to complete forms or submit paperwork. But first, state agencies […]
