Medicaid
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Child Enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP Remains Down in 2019
As of October 2019, the decline in child enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP held at .6 percent for calendar year 2019 based on the most recent enrollment data posted by CMS. While this is an improvement over the 2.2 percent decline in 2018, it still indicates that overall enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP is not…
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Appeals Court Strikes Decisively at the Heart of Administrator Verma’s Medicaid Agenda
In a decision which warmed my heart on a cold Valentine’s Day here in Washington, the federal Court of Appeals issued an unanimous opinion striking down the Arkansas work requirements waiver. In doing so, it upheld district court Judge Boasberg’s decision vacating the Arkansas’ Section 1115 waiver (including most famously Medicaid work requirements) because it…
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Florida Medicaid director: New Trump administration rules would be ‘crippling’ to nursing homes, hospitals
Orlando Sentinel By: Christine Sexton The administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis, a steadfast supporter of President Donald Trump, is raising concerns about a proposed federal rule that would strike a financial blow to the state’s Medicaid program if allowed to go into effect. … “In terms of all the rules that the Trump administration has…
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New Brief Unpacks How States Can Leverage Medicaid Funds to Expand School-Based Health
It’s been five years since the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) opened the door to more Medicaid reimbursement for health services delivered in schools. School districts, once restricted to seeking reimbursement only under very specific conditions, were permitted to cover all eligible services delivered to all Medicaid-enrolled students. Put simply, this means more…
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Same Unanswered Questions about Trump Budget’s CHIP Financing Proposal
The Trump Administration’s fiscal year 2021 budget, released on February 10, again proposes to make a legislative change to the financing system for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) (described here). Entitled “Strengthen the CHIP Safety Net for States,” the proposal is identical to one included in the 2020 budget. It would eliminate the CHIP’s…
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Administration’s Budget Proposal Includes At Least $1 Trillion in Medicaid Cuts
Earlier this week, the Administration proposed a budget for FY2021 that it says would cut federal Medicaid spending by $920 billion, or 16 percent over the next ten years. (Current law baseline of $5.861 trillion, Table S-3, minus proposed spending of $4.941 trillion,Table S-4). A more realistic number would be at least $1 trillion over…
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Covering All Kids: A Vision for the Future
Once a source of national pride and a testament to the power of bipartisan cooperation, our children’s health coverage has now eroded – the number of uninsured children is going up after years of decline. It is time for policymakers at the state and federal level of both parties to rededicate themselves to covering all…
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Covering All Kids
Ninth in a series of papers from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families on the future of children’s health coverage. Introduction The nation made remarkable progress in reducing the rate of uninsured children, following decades of coverage expansions and policy changes that made it easier for children and their families to get and…
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Strong Opposition Emerges to Damaging Medicaid State Financing and Supplemental Payment Rule
As our CCF public comments and my Health Affairs blog post explain, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed “Fiscal Accountability” rule threatens to significantly alter how states finance their share of the cost of Medicaid programs and how states provide supplemental payments to hospitals, nursing homes, physicians and other health care providers.…
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SSA Launches A Stealth Assault on Medicaid Coverage for Children and Parents with Disabilities
As readers of Say Ahhh! know, children’s enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP is declining, and the number of uninsured children is increasing. There are a number of factors at play, including a “see-no-disenrollment, hear-no-disenrollment” posture from CMS Administrator Seema Verma. The Administrator is doubling down with an eligibility rule now under review at the Office…
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The Trump Administration Is Coming For Medicaid Again
Huffington Post By; Jonathan Cohn The Trump administration is back with a new initiative that could make it harder for some low-income Americans to get health care. … But if some state officials try, as several conservative ones seem inclined to do, and if the courts allow it, as perhaps some conservative judges will decide…
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Trump Administration Clears The Way For Medicaid Block Grants
NPR By: Selena Simmons-Duffin The Trump administration wants to dramatically alter the way the federal government gives money to states for Medicaid. … Critics responded quickly to Thursday’s announcement. Eagan Kemp, health care policy advocate with the liberal advocacy group Public Citizen, called the program “a Medicaid block grant by another name.” Edwin Park of…
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Fighting Fear with Facts: Here’s What the Supreme Court Ruling on Public Charge Injunction Means for Immigrant Families
Editor’s Note: On September 9, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a final rule called Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility that will restore longstanding public charge policy effective December 23, 2022. Learn more in our factsheet. Earlier this week the Supreme Court issued a ruling to allow the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to implement…
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Medicaid Work Requirements and Beyond: CMS Administrator Tries a New Work-Around
For the past 3 years, CMS Administrator Seema Verma has been on a crusade to convert Medicaid from health insurance to a welfare program. The spear at the point of this attack has been work requirements, which, under the guise of “demonstrations,” she has sought to impose as a condition of eligibility for Medicaid coverage. …
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Statement by Joan Alker on Medicaid Block Grant/Per Capita Cap Guidance
Following is a statement by Georgetown University Center for Children and Families Executive Director Joan Alker regarding the Trump Administration’s Medicaid block grant/per capita cap guidance announcement: “The misguided, unlawful guidance issued by CMS today encourages states to gamble with the health and well-being of their residents and their budgets by trading in their guarantee…
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Georgia House Study Committee Recommendations Call for Medicaid Extension, Workforce Development to Support Infant and Toddler Social Emotional Health
Georgia, like most states, is facing a growing need for social and emotional health support for young children and families. During the past year, in response to concerns about prevention and early identification of mental health problems in children and adolescents in Georgia, a study committee comprised of five members of the state’s House of…
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New Resource Highlights What Works for Healthy Social and Emotional Development of Young Children
As more states look to support healthy social and emotional development of young children and their families, the experts at the National Center for Children in Poverty recently launched a database that combines descriptions of research-informed policies and programs that support infant and early childhood mental health with profiles of model states implementing them. The…
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CMS Gets Closer to Issuing Medicaid Block-Grant Guidance
Politico Pulse By: Dan Diamond CMS Administrator Seema Verma plans to issue a letter soon explaining how states could seek 1115 waivers to receive defined payments for adults covered by Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, your PULSE author scooped. … But the plan is guaranteed to face immediate legal challenges, with advocates already staking out arguments against…
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Trump Poised To Kick Off Election-Year Fight Over Medicaid
The Hill By: Nathaniel Weixel The Trump administration is poised to kick off a major partisan feud over Medicaid in 2020, as officials are reportedly planning to soon introduce a way for states to block grant Medicaid money. The guidance, which The Wall Street Journal said could be released as early as this month, will…
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CCF Submits Comments on Harmful Trump Administration Medicaid Financing and Supplemental Payment Rule
CCF has submitted public comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed “Fiscal Accountability” rule which could significantly change how states finance their share of the cost of Medicaid programs and how states provide supplemental payments to hospitals, nursing homes, physicians and other health care providers. As my recent Health Affairs blog…
