Marketplace
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Backlogs Put Children’s Health Coverage at Risk
By Gary Brunk President & CEO, Kansas Action for Children “I just couldn’t believe the state would cut personnel on a program that’s for kids,” commented Harold Stultz to a reporter from the CBS affiliate in Wichita, Kansas. According to a local television news report, Harold’s 12-year-old son Keenan had injured his knee during a…
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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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A Glimpse of What the Final Health Reform Bill Might Look Like
By Jocelyn Guyer Right after the question of how the incredibly busy OMB director Peter Orszag managed to find the time for such an exciting personal life, the major topic in D.C. policy circles is what will be in the final health care bill. For the latest “big pictures” stories, check out Politico and the…
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Key Medicaid, CHIP, and Low-Income Provisions in the Final Senate Health Reform Bill: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
This fact sheet provides a description of the key Medicaid, CHIP, and low-income provisions in the health reform bill approved by the Senate on December 24, 2009.
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2009 Comes to a Close With Chances for Health Reform Looking Good
This morning the Senate passed its version of the health care reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. As we wind down the year here at CCF, comprehensive reform remains closer at hand than at any time in recent history. While the bill is far from perfect, children and their parents have an…
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Key Medicaid, CHIP, and Low-Income Provisions in the Merged Senate Bill: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
This fact sheet provides a description of the key Medicaid, CHIP, and low-income provisions in the merged health reform bill released by the Senate on November 18, 2009.
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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…
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New CMS CHIPRA Guidance Coming – Straight from the Source
By Joe Touschner As we all follow the twists and turns of health care reform in Congress, it’s easy to forget that the critical children’s health legislation that’s already been passed this year–CHIPRA–is well on its way to being implemented. CMS Medicaid and State Operations Director Cindy Mann (CCF’s former fearless leader) took the time…
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National Summit Kicks Off Renewed Outreach and Enrollment Effort
An enthusiastic crowd of more than 500 gathered in Chicago last week for the National Children’s Health Insurance Summit hosted by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS). Attendees included CHIPRA outreach grantees, individuals from community-based and provider organizations, national and state experts, and officials from federal and state government. The purpose of the event…
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Key Medicaid, CHIP, and Low-Income Provisions in H.R. 3962: The Affordable Health Care for America Act of 2009
This fact sheet provides a description of the key Medicaid, CHIP, and low-income provisions in the merged health reform bill released by the House and amended on November 3, 2009.
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Poll: Affordability and Health Care Coverage
This survey shows that families are still reeling from the recession, feeling pessimistic about the future, and struggling to afford health care. Health care costs are squeezing families financially, forcing them to make hard choices. For this reason, their goal for health care reform is overwhelmingly to make health care more affordable and to lower…
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In Case You Needed It, Here’s Another Reason Why Health Insurance Is Important
By Martha Heberlein A recent study from Johns Hopkins found that children who enter the hospital uninsured are more likely to die than those who have coverage. In fact, uninsured children were found to have an in-hospital mortality rate 60% higher than their insured counterparts. Extrapolating their findings (and assuming that lack of insurance was…
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What a Novel Idea: Making Sure No Newborn Leaves the Hospital Uninsured!
New Jersey is putting this idea to the test with its new “Insured for Sure” initiative that is being piloted in nine New Jersey hospitals. Hospital staff will check the insurance status of all newborns and provide data to the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) verifying a baby’s coverage under the parent’s insurance.…
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House Releases Health Reform Bill: A Quick Look at the Child and Family Provisions
Yesterday the House Leadership released its merged health reform bill, The Affordable Health Care for Americans Act of 2009. It includes some noteworthy changes with respect to kids and families from the previous version of the bill. Here are some highlights: Raises the mandatory Medicaid threshold from 133% to 150% FPL. CBO estimates that by…
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Women and Health Reform: The Latest Data
Judy Waxman, Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights, National Women’s Law Center This week, we released a new report, Still Nowhere to Turn: Insurance Companies Treat Women Like a Pre-Existing Condition, uncovering the latest data on the disparities women face in health care coverage. Some of our findings included: The extent of gender rating —…
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Health Reform Bill’s Pediatric Dental Benefit Could Have A Tremendous Impact on Children’s Health
Meg Booth, Deputy Executive Director, Children’s Health Dental Project In the past months of health reform debate, we at Children’s Dental Health Project have continuously heard the surprise and elation that all of the House and Senate Committees debating this issue included a dental benefit for children as part of their proposals. The disappointment later…
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Children in Health Reform: What’s at Stake?
By Jocelyn Guyer Moms Rising — Presentation Document October 2009
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New CHIPRA Dental Standards: A Victory for Kids!
CMS released the latest in a series of state health official letters providing guidance on CHIPRA implementation. This seventh letter focuses on the new mandatory dental provisions for separate CHIP programs, as well as the option these states have to provide a stand-alone dental plan to children who are insured or underinsured but would otherwise…
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FMAP – A Four-Letter Acronym that Inspires Controversy
By Martha Heberlein As a shared federal-state program, the distribution of financing in Medicaid has long been an area of debate. Whenever changes in the program are discussed (or as in the debate over the stimulus package, increases are considered), distributional questions come up. How much should the federal government pay versus the states? How…