CHIP
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CHIP Turns 20: A Not So Happy Birthday
Saturday marks the twentieth anniversary of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which was signed into law on August 5th, 1997 by President Bill Clinton as part of the Balanced Budget Act. As readers of SayAhhh! know, CHIP and its companion Medicaid, have done an amazing job of reducing the number of uninsured children to…
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What Every Policy Maker Needs to Know about the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) – A Refresher
Much to our pleasant surprise here at CCF, the recent health care debate elevated and educated many lawmakers on the role of Medicaid for children and families. Medicaid, of course, is the foundation of health coverage for children in the U.S.—a fact that was often overlooked until recently, even by health-savvy lawmakers. But Say Ahhh!…
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New Pediatric Quality Core Measure Set Released by Collaborative of Public and Private Payers
About a year and a half ago, CMS, commercial health plans, Medicare and Medicaid managed care plans, purchasers, physician and other health-related professional groups, and consumers teamed up to reach consensus on core quality measures that would be reported across payers in the public and private sectors. The initiative, known as the Core Quality Measures…
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How Medicaid and CHIP Shield Children from the Rising Costs of Prescription Drugs
Nearly a quarter of U.S. children use at least one prescription drug a month, most commonly treating such conditions as asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and infections. Medicaid guarantees that enrolled children who need drugs receive them without any financial barriers, while some in the Children’s Health Insurance Program have a modest copayment. This report, the third in a…
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Senate Bill is Not Nice to Children and Families
There is a tremendous amount to digest here, and we are still working through the complex text, but one thing is clear – the Senate bill (like the House bill) will start moving the country backwards with respect to child and family coverage. Readers of Say Ahhh! know that the number of uninsured children is…
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It is Complicated. A Child’s View Can Guide Us.
By Rylin Rodgers, Riley Child Development Center Too often policy discussions and budget debates are framed in terms of winners and losers at the program, department, or budget line level. Families raising children who have health care needs and disabilities are impacted every day by public policy, systems, and services related to health care, education, housing,…
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Trump’s Proposed Budget Would Repeal the Maintenance of Effort Provision
The President’s FY 2018 budget, released yesterday, proposed repealing the maintenance of effort (MOE) provision as of October 1, 2017. As readers of Say Ahhh! already know, the MOE has been critical to maintaining stability for children’s coverage – and even improving coverage levels – while the rest of the health care system in the…
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Fact Sheet: The Maintenance of Effort (MOE) Provision in the Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) included a “maintenance of effort” (MOE) provision that has ensured stability of coverage for children in Medicaid and CHIP, even as the rest of the U.S. healthcare system has seen significant change. The MOE—along with coverage expansions for parents and other adults in Medicaid and the Marketplaces – has helped…
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Trump Budget Poses Even More Threats to Children’s Health
Today President Trump’s budget came out and the news for children’s health coverage is devastating. In addition to assuming the enormous cuts and dangerous changes to Medicaid included in the House passed American Health Care Act (that we have blogged about many times), the President is proposing even larger cuts to Medicaid and is proposing…
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Further Evidence that Medicaid and CHIP Have Played Significant Role in Nation’s Success in Covering Children
Efforts to connect kids to coverage over the past decade were accelerated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and are paying off big! A new report by the Urban Institute shows that the number of uninsured children who were eligible but not enrolled in Medicaid fell by 40% in just two years between 2013 and…
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Medicaid’s Special Importance for Children in Southern and Western States
We can’t say it enough here at Georgetown CCF – Medicaid is critical for delivering quality health care to children and their families. Our state, county and congressional district maps make clear just how important Medicaid is to children across the country, regardless of which elected officials represent them in Washington, D.C. Nationally, children make…
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Nation’s Progress on Children’s Health Coverage Imperiled
On November 9th I blogged about what the election results could mean for child and family coverage. As readers of Say Ahhh! know, the nation made extraordinary progress in reducing the rate of uninsured children to under 5%, This progress is thanks to Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). All three…
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Making Kids Wait for Coverage Makes No Sense in a Reformed Health System
A central goal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is near universal access to affordable health insurance through Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and subsidies to help purchase private coverage in the new Health Insurance Marketplaces. As states full implement the ACA, they are modernizing the way Medicaid and CHIP do business, including…
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Medicaid And CHIP Help Address Racial/Ethnic Disparities In Children’s Health
Medicaid and CHIP are primary sources of health coverage for all children. These programs play a particularly important role for children of color, who are disproportionately represented among beneficiaries because they are more likely to be economically disadvantaged (see figure below). CCF’s new fact sheet unpacks child population and Medicaid/CHIP data by state. We know…
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Snapshot of Children’s Coverage by Race and Ethnicity
Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are primary sources of health coverage for children. These programs are particularly important to children of color, who are disproportionately represented among beneficiaries because they are more likely to be economically disadvantaged. (View our 2018 snapshot of children’s coverage by race and ethnicity.)
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New Maps Display Medicaid/CHIP Enrollment by Congressional District
We have a new interactive map feature on our website and are excited to share with you the first maps we have created with our new tool. The maps visually display how Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are helping to meet the needs of children and families across the country. You can…
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Kids and State Budgets Need the Stability and Predictably of CHIP During an Uncertain Time
As we watch the latest stalled efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and gut Medicaid, we couldn’t help but think about what’s in store for another key health program: the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). With no new funding available to states after September 30, 2017 (the end of the federal fiscal year),…
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What Should Congress Do to Extend CHIP?
In February I wrote a blog entitled “Congress Must Act Quickly on CHIP” in which I expressed concern that Congress would not act quickly to extend funding for this vital and popular program. Now, almost two months later there has been no noticeable Congressional movement and virtually no discussion about the Children’s Health Insurance Program…
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ARKids First turns 20!
Originally posted by Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. Twenty years ago today, on March 10, 1997, then-Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee signed ARKids First into law. ARKids was Arkansas’s state-funded health insurance program, and bringing it to life was a monumental moment for kids and families in our state. ARKids filled in the gap for…
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Impact of Medicaid on Children: Latest Research Findings
Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provide health coverage to more than one-third of the children in the United States. The vast majority of these children, more than 90 percent, are covered through Medicaid. A large body of research shows that access to Medicaid in childhood leads to longer, healthier lives, a better chance to…
