CHIP
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Social Media: A Critical Tool for States to Leverage as Unwinding Winds Down
It is no secret that social media is one of the most powerful tools state Medicaid and CHIP agencies can employ when attempting to reach out to eligible individuals. Over 70% of adults ages 18–64 use at least one social media site, and targeted outreach on these platforms could help spread the word about programs…
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Introduction to Medicaid and CHIP Outreach Snapshot Blog Series
We recently released our snapshot of state Medicaid and CHIP outreach activities, just as a number of states are in the final stages of the unwinding and getting people reconnected to coverage becomes more important than ever. While the report provides in-depth analysis into state-provided outreach resources and enrollment assistance, we are also writing a…
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Judge Dismisses Florida’s Attempt to Take Down New Federal Coverage Protection for Children
A federal court in Tampa dismissed the state of Florida’s legal challenge to the Biden Administration’s implementation of a new provision of federal law guaranteeing 12 months of continuous coverage in the Children’s Health Insurance Program – denying the state’s request for a preliminary injunction and, more importantly, dismissed the case from his courtroom. The…
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Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024: Medicaid and CHIP Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Provisions Explained
Download the Full Report Here On March 9, 2024, President Biden signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 118-42). The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (CAA 2024) includes a number of Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provisions related to mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) care and coverage including provisions extending…
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Series: Improving Access and Managed Care in Medicaid and CHIP
Earlier this year, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized two new regulations aimed at improving access to care for those enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) across delivery systems. CCF experts summarize both rules in “An Explanation of Final Medicaid Managed Care and Access Rules“. Below is a…
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New Report Focuses on Child Health Coverage Declines and What States Can do to Help Reconnect Kids with Medicaid/CHIP
As our nation approaches another sad milestone with nearly 5 million fewer children enrolled in Medicaid, we released a report looking at how states have responded to the challenge of the Medicaid “unwinding” process. With approximately half of the nation’s children enrolled in Medicaid, the stakes are very high for children and the providers who…
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Child Medicaid Disenrollment Data Shows Wide Variation in State Performance as Continuous Coverage Pandemic Protections Lifted
Download the Full Report (PDF) Background During the COVID-19 public health emergency, states received increased federal Medicaid matching rates in exchange for a commitment to maintain continuous coverage for those enrolled in Medicaid. With the public health emergency winding down, as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), 2023, Congress ended the continuous coverage requirement…
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It Looks Like Florida is Cutting Children Off CHIP in Violation of Federal Rules
While children are losing Medicaid coverage nationwide due to the unwinding process, new data reveals that Florida has disenrolled 22,576 children from its Healthy Kids CHIP program since January 1, 2024, when new federal protections requiring states to provide 12 months of continuous coverage in Medicaid and CHIP went into effect, which included barring states…
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Wondering what’s in the recent Medicaid and CHIP eligibility and enrollment rule?
On April 2, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published the second part of a two-part final rule that simplifies the eligibility and enrollment processes for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the Basic Health Program (BHP). The rule eliminates certain access barriers for children enrolled in CHIP; makes transitions…
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Medicaid Eligibility and Enrollment Rule Explainer
Download the Full Explainer (PDF) On April 2, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published the second part of a two-part final rule that simplifies the eligibility and enrollment processes for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and the Basic Health Program (BHP).1 The rule eliminates certain access barriers for children enrolled…
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Marketplace Enrollment Among Those Losing Medicaid Coverage During Unwinding Increased by Nearly One-Third in the Second Month of Open Enrollment
As readers of Say Ahhh! know, I have been tracking monthly data (here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here) from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on the number of people who were either previously enrolled in Medicaid or had experienced a denial or termination during unwinding who then selected a…
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New ASPE Report: 17 Million Children Live in States That Could Benefit from 12 Months Continuous Coverage in Medicaid and CHIP
One commonsense policy change can make a huge difference in the lives of children. A new federal report released yesterday finds that the 12-month continuous eligibility period for children in Medicaid and CHIP that took effect on January 1, 2024 will protect more than 17 million children who live in states that previously did not…
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Biden Administration Adds Protections to Keep Children Covered in CHIP
Today the Biden Administration announced the final federal regulation “Streamlining the Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Basic Health Program Application, Eligibility Determination, Enrollment, and Renewal Processes” which, among other things, eliminates outdated red tape barriers to coverage for children insured through the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that have been in place since its…
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A Deeper Dive into Florida’s Lawsuit Seeking to Undermine the New Requirement for 12-Months Continuous Eligibility for Children in Separate State CHIP Programs
As my colleague Joan Alker explains, the state of Florida recently sued the federal government to block guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) implementing the new requirement that all states provide 12-months continuous eligibility for children in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) as of January 1, 2024. Specifically,…
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CMS Informational Bulletin Calls Out 10 “Do Nots” in Conducting Renewals
In an Informational Bulletin (CIB) released on March 15, 2024, CMS reminds states of their obligation to comply with all existing federal renewal requirements in Medicaid and CHIP. The CIB is the result of questions CMS has received from states, stakeholders, and external partners regarding the permissibility of certain renewal practices. The CIB describes 10…
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CMS Releases Updated Medicaid & CHIP Telehealth Toolkit, Includes State Best Practices and Behavioral Health Strategies
This month, CMS released an updated State Medicaid and CHIP Telehealth Toolkit consolidating information from previous toolkits and providing additional guidance – as required by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act – on issues from billing best practices to strategies for using telehealth in schools. In addition to FAQs on issues such as benefit flexibility, financing,…
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If You Love Children, You Should Love these Medicaid/CHIP Policy Changes in 2024
Before the new year slips from memory, I wanted to take stock of a few good things happening for kids covered by Medicaid and CHIP this year. Amidst all the dismal news about how nearly 4 million children have lost their coverage during the unwinding – many remain eligible but lost coverage due to red…
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It’s Unanimous: CMS Needs to Bring More Transparency to Medicaid Managed Care
Last week, MACPAC Commissioners voted to recommend that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services post all state Managed Care Program Annual Reports (MCPARs) to the CMS website. The vote was unanimous: 17-0. The recommendation will be included in MACPAC’s March 2024 Report to Congress. At first glance, this may seem unremarkable, but on further…
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CMS Announces $50 Million in Capacity Building Grants for Medicaid/CHIP School-Based Health Services
This week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity for the much anticipated planning grants to implement or expand school-based health services for children enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP. As we’ve written about in previous blogs, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act appropriated $50 million in grants for states…
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State Medicaid Opportunities to Support Mental Health of Mothers and Babies During the 12-Month Postpartum Period
Download Full Report (PDF) By: Elisabeth Burak, Anne Dwyer, Tanesha Mondestin, and Kay Johnson Most states have moved to adopt a new state option to extend Medicaid coverage to all enrolled pregnant people from 60 days to 12 months following a pregnancy. As the predominant payor of U.S. births and health care to postpartum people…
