CHIP
-
Need Help Learning Eligibility Rules and Application Process for Families with Immigrants?
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…
-
President’s Proposed Budget: Four More Years of CHIP
It would be great this Groundhog’s Day if Pensetucky Pete’s shadow also allowed us to forecast additional years of CHIP. But today we did get an important signal from the Administration that CHIP must remain a strong player in the system of children’s coverage for the foreseeable future. President Obama’s proposed budget included four additional…
-
Modern Era Medicaid: Findings from a 50-State Survey of Eligibility, Enrollment, Renewal, and Cost-Sharing Policies in Medicaid and CHIP as of January 2015
One year into implementation, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has broadened Medicaid’s base of coverage for the low-income population and accelerated state efforts to move from outdated, paper-driven enrollment processes to a new modernized enrollment experience. Given the fast-paced policy environment leading up to when the ACA’s key coverage provisions went into effect on January 1, 2014, an abbreviated report based…
-
Kaiser Family Foundation & CCF Release 50-State Survey on Medicaid and CHIP
It’s that time again – the release of the annual 50-state survey on Medicaid and CHIP eligibility, enrollment, renewal and cost-sharing policies conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured and the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. Today, my co-authors from Kaiser – Samantha Artiga, Jessica Stephens, and Alexandra…
-
What Can Policy Makers Learn from Experiences of Arizona Children Who Lost CHIP Coverage?
Fourteen thousand children in Arizona lost their health insurance at the end of January 2014 when the state ended its KidsCare program for low-income children, becoming the only state in the country without an active Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Today we released two new reports on how those cuts to children’s coverage impacted Arizona…
-
Two New Reports Focus on Arizona Children Who Lost CHIP Coverage and Lessons Learned for Future
Fourteen thousand children in Arizona lost their health insurance at the end of January 2014 when the state ended its KidsCare program for low-income children, becoming the only state in the country without an active Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Two new reports released by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families today focus…
-
CCF to MACPAC: CHIP Should Continue While Policymakers Work to Improve Marketplace Coverage for Kids
By Sean Miskell As the expiration of funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) approaches and policy makers consider its role in the new health coverage landscape, it’s a good time to take stock of CHIP coverage and whether or not comparable and affordable coverage is available to families through the new health insurance…
-
49 National Groups to MACPAC: Keep CHIP While Improving Exchanges for Kids
Compared to what?! – This line is a favorite of my four-year-old from the popular Marcel the Shell with Shoes On web series. If you haven’t had the pleasure of seeing as I have many times, Marcel makes funny observations about his role and size in the world. The full quote (which you can see…
-
CDC Survey Shows Uninsured Rate Continues to Drop for Adults, Remains Steady for Kids
Yesterday we heard more good news about declining uninsured rates for adults – especially in states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act – while uninsured rates for children continue to hold steady. These were some of the findings included in the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) report for the first six months of…
-
Governors Overwhelmingly Support CHIP, Offer Recommendations
While many of us were eagerly watching the House CHIP hearing last week, the House Energy and Commerce and Senate Finance Committees released the full set of governors responses to the summer Congressional inquiry on CHIP. Naturally, we were eager to see what they had to say! We read through the 39 letters intently to…
-
House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on the Future of CHIP, Releases Governors’ Letters
It has been a while since I witnessed a Congressional hearing on health care that was not contentious. Courtesy and bipartisanship were on full display at the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee this week on the future of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). That’s not to say that renewing CHIP funding will be…
-
Summary: Governors’ Letters to Congress on the Future of CHIP
On July 29, 2014, leaders of the Senate Finance Committee and House Committee on Energy and Commerce sent a letter to all 50 governors asking for their input on the future of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The letter asked six questions, including whether or not governors support extending CHIP funding and any recommendations…
-
Why Does Florida Still Have one of Highest Uninsured Rates for Kids? What Can be Done to Help?
Earlier this week I released a brief and held a webinar with the Florida Philanthropic Network on Florida’s uninsured children. The brief provides an overview of the demographics of Florida’s kids and outlines some policy decisions that will impact Florida’s high uninsured rate in the future. It will come as no surprise to regular Say Ahhh!…
-
Children’s Health Coverage in Florida: Fewer Uninsured But Challenges Lie Ahead
Florida’s rate of uninsured children has declined in recent years, though it remains considerably higher than that of the nation and other southeastern states. This encouraging trend could be disrupted, however, by policy decisions in 2015 that could negatively impact as many as 400,000 children. This brief examines why Florida has one of the highest…
-
MACPAC Seeks Stakeholder Input on Children’s Coverage
As we contemplate what’s ahead for children’s coverage— CHIP most urgently— it is instructive to know what issues are being weighed by the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), created by CHIPRA. Of course, MACPAC’s June report made clear that CHIP funding should continue until availability, affordability, and quality of coverage in the…
-
The President’s Immigration Announcement: What Do Health Policy Wonks Need to Know?
Last Thursday, President Obama announced immigration reforms that will provide up to five million people with relief from deportation and work authorization. While the reforms will do much to alleviate the constant fear of separation that many immigrant families face, most people included in the reforms will not be eligible for federal health coverage affordability…
-
We Can Reach the Finish Line on Health Coverage for Hispanic Kids
Ensuring that every child in America has the protection of health care coverage is an attainable goal. Today, in partnership with National Council of La Raza, we released a 50-state analysis of health coverage for Hispanic children. Our analysis found that Washington, DC is just a step away from the finish line already with 99…
-
What Does the Election Mean for the Future of Children’s Coverage?
As the dust settles on this year’s mid-terms and talking heads work to define its meaning, it naturally left many in the child health world wondering: What now for kids coverage, notably CHIP and Medicaid?? It’s hard to answer this, of course, without some distance from the noise and posturing about what the election means.…
-
Hispanic Children’s Coverage: Steady Progress, but Disparities Remain
The United States has cut the rate of uninsured children in half since 1997, due, in large part, to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). A combination of children’s eligibility expansions through these two programs, as well as state and federal efforts to conduct outreach and simplify enrollment in both programs, has led…
-
Time to Pay More Attention to Kids
Every year around this time, CCF releases a 50-state report on uninsured children. Since we started publishing the report, we’ve always had good news to share about the progress being made for uninsured children. This year, the news wasn’t quite so rosy. The national uninsured rate for children seems to have hit a plateau. The…