CHIP
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Understanding the New Quality Initiatives in CHIPRA
In addition to extending the CHIP program, the CHIP reauthorization bill signed into law on February 4, 2009, includes a number of important program and financing changes affecting Medicaid as well as CHIP. Among these are a set of quality provisions that aim to help develop child-specific quality measures and improve the quality of care…
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New Mom Sees Some Signs of Hope for Health Coverage
“…let’s talk about honoring our most important responsibility as Iowans. That is, our duty as parents, and as shepherds of our children’s future. You know, I’m proud of the fact, that working together, we’ve made a long-term investment in the health and education of “all” children… Together, we must continue this investment, and my budget…
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What’s at Stake for Kids and Families if Health Reform Fails?
By Jocelyn Guyer Like everyone else in D.C. health policy circles, I’ve spent much of the last few days obsessively checking for updates on whether there is a coherent plan emerging from the White House and Congress for moving forward on health reform. Not yet, which means that instead of rolling up my sleeves and…
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A Strong and Affordable Exchange Should be Children’s Priority
(Editor’s Note: John Bouman is the President of the Shriver Center. He is recognized for being one of the most effective and thoughtful public-benefit advocates in the country. Say Ahhh! asked him for his thoughts on national health reform.) We all worry about our children so of course we are concerned about the treatment of…
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Five Reasons Not to Add Red Tape to Your Child and Family Health Programs
As state fiscal pressures continue to mount, states may consider adopting policies that erect barriers to coverage for children and their families in order to save money. However, evidence confirms that introducing barriers to coverage and care is not a wise strategy. In fact, red tape not only keeps eligible children and families from receiving…
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2010 Kicks Off with Better, More Efficient Way to Document Citizenship
Each celebration of a new year brings a renewed sense of optimism and 2010 offers tremendous promise in mitigating the chilling impact of the citizenship documentation requirement imposed by the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) on Medicaid. The citizenship documentation requirement not only made it more difficult for eligible citizens to enroll in Medicaid but…
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Tennessee No Longer an “Island of Excellence” on Children’s Health Coverage
Michele Johnson, Managing Attorney, Tennessee Justice Center In 2006, Governor Phil Bredesen pledged to make our state “an island of excellence” by making sure “every child in Tennessee” had health coverage. He established a new program, to be known as CoverKids. CoverKids would be Tennessee’s version of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP. The…
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A New Year Ushers in a New Phase in Health Reform Debate
While the rest of the nation took a break to celebrate the holidays, the gears in Washington continued the churn bringing us ever closer to health reform legislation being signed into law. Now our attention turns to the House and Senate conference committee that has not yet been officially appointed but staff is already laying…
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The Holidays Are Looking Brighter for Nine States Earning CHIPRA Bonuses
It is indeed fitting – with the holidays focused on children and giving – that HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius awarded more than $72 million in bonus payments last week to nine states for their success in enrolling low-income children in Medicaid. Like little kids during the holidays, we have awaited the announcement of these performance…
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What’s in the Manager’s Amendment for Kids?
Today on a snowy day in DC, agreement was reached on the Senate health care bill making it likely that Senator Reid has enough votes to pass the bill before Christmas. The Senator also filed his Managers Amendment to the bill. The Congressional Budget Office followed soon after with the bill’s score. Tucked between the more…
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Where Will All the CHIP Kids Go?
By Martha Heberlein The current health reform proposals have so many moving parts it’s been hard at times to parse out where children will land. Thankfully, Jenny Kenney and Allison Cook at the Urban Institute have provided us with some guidance. Using 2007 coverage numbers, they examine both the House and Senate bills to determine…
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The Ups and Downs of Children’s Health Coverage in 2009
Donna Cohen Ross, Outreach Director, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Editor’s Note: Donna Cohen Ross has been tracking state eligibility rules, enrollment and renewal procedures and cost-sharing practices in Medicaid and CHIP for more than a decade. Her much anticipated annual survey was released last week by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the…
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Children in Health Reform: Perspective from a California Leader
Wendy Lazarus, Founder and Co-President, The Children’s Partnership As the health reform debate in Congress moves further forward than it ever has before, the potential real-world impacts on children and families are becoming clearer. Even from 3,000 miles away, those of us in California – home of the nation’s largest and hugely successful CHIP program…
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New Deal on a Public Option — Implications for Children and Families??
By Jocelyn Guyer Details are starting to emerge on what is in the new Senate deal on a public option, but we’re still trying to figure out what it means for low-income children and families. So far, we know it does not include a Medicaid expansion to 150 percent of the federal poverty level, which…
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WI Moves Forward on Covering ALL Kids
Remember CHIPRA? Wisconsin does and it’s putting it to use to get closer to its goal of providing affordable health coverage options to ALL kids. CHIPRA, signed into law in February, provided states with the ability to cover lawfully residing immigrant children and pregnant women without a five-year waiting period. Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle has…
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Children and Families in Senate Health Reform Bill
While not as riveting as the latest gossip on the White House “party crashers,” the Senate began debate this week on its health reform bill. We have developed a fact sheet of the bill’s key Medicaid, CHIP, and low-income provisions to help you navigate and understand where things stand for children and families. Over the…
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Affordability & Seamless Enrollment System – Keys to Success In Mass Health Program
An Interview with Brian Rosman, Research Director of Health Care For All in Massachusetts. The success Massachusetts had in creating affordable, accessible, quality health coverage options for all residents of the Commonwealth has helped lead the way for national health reform. Now that we’re getting beyond the larger conceptual phase of health reform and getting…
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It’s Jocelyn Guyer, Live from CCF
By Jocelyn Guyer For a change of pace, I thought I would post a video blog entry. No, my intent is not to see whether Jocelyn had a good hair day or not, it’s to see if a video can help jumpstart a dialogue better than written blog entries. (We haven’t inspired many of you…
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What About Those Uninsured Kids? How Many Are Eligible for Medicaid or CHIP?
By Martha Heberlein Medicaid, and it’s companion program, CHIP have had amazing success in reducing the number of uninsured children over the years. The recent Census numbers highlight this fact – in 2008, the number of uninsured children was at its lowest in 20 years, due in large part to public programs filling in the…
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Senate Health Reform Bill’s Medicaid and CHIP Provisions
The Senate bill is finally out, and Majority Leader Reid is looking to get through a cloture vote on Saturday. The key parts of the bill that we’ve been tracking haven’t changed too much from the Senate Finance version. One change of note, the implementation date for the coverage pieces in the bill was moved…