Medicaid
-
How Much Do Kids Count? This Year We Get a Closer Look
By Tara Mancini Members of Congress, as well as state and local politicians seem to agree that we must invest in kids. They often contend that it is our duty to build the next generation. Yet, what exactly we mean by “investing in our future” is a sore point of contention – at best, and…
-
More Uninsured Likely Following the Supreme Court Decision
By Martha Heberlein I’m not quite sure what it says about me, but I was eagerly checking the Congressional Budget Office’s website yesterday at 2pm awaiting the updated score of the ACA following the Supreme Court ruling. While they’re only estimates, CBO is the official arbiter in DC and their assessments carry a whole lot…
-
CMS Shines Light on the Secret Lives of Medicaid Waivers
Just as Yelp has saved us from many a bad meal, the new Medicaid “Idea Factory” has the potential to protect us from bad health policy decisions. The idea behind the “Idea Factory” is to infuse more transparency into the process and elicit greater public input into important health policy decisions. In my view, nowhere…
-
Foster Care Children and the Affordable Care Act – New Report from CCF and Community Catalyst
In a new analysis, Georgetown’s Center for Children and Families and Community Catalyst, take a look at key provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that hold the promise of improving the health and well-being of the nation’s foster care children and youth. According to government statistics, there were more than 400,000 children and youth…
-
Fresh Insights into Strategies and Messages for Enrollment in Medicaid and the Exchange
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently released new research to help states identify messages that will encourage enrollment in Medicaid in 2014 when minimum eligibility levels are expanded to 133% FPL. The research also explores issues relating to state Exchanges, including attitudes about enrolling and choosing health insurance online. It was conducted in three states:…
-
Expanding Coverage for Parents Helps Children: Children’s Groups Have a Key Role in Urging States to Move Forward and Expand Medicaid
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) expanded Medicaid coverage to include parents and low-income adults with incomes up to 133 percent of the poverty line. The Supreme Court’s decision means states can now decide whether or not to implement this expansion. Covering low-income parents is important for children: covering parents means that more eligible children will…
-
Child Welfare and the Affordable Care Act: Key Provisions for Children and Youth in the Foster Care System
The Affordable Care Act will have important implications for many of the nation’s children, but, it may prove particularly significant for the over 400,000 children and youth who are part of the foster care system. This issue brief reviews ACA provisions that hold promise of improving the health and well-being of these children, who often…
-
CBPP’s New Toolkit Will Help States Prepare for Eligibility Changes Under Health Reform
By Shelby Gonzales, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities There’s a lot to look forward to as states prepare for health reform. Not only will millions of low- and moderate-income people gain access to affordable health coverage, but new systems and processes will make it easier for people to apply for and renew Medicaid and…
-
Medicaid Coverage for Parents under the Affordable Care Act – State Fact Sheets
This issue brief presents national estimates of the number and characteristics of uninsured parents who would be eligible for Medicaid in 2014 according to whether they have child who is currently enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP coverage or an uninsured child who is eligible for Medicaid/CHIP but not enrolled. State-specific data are also provided on the ten…
-
Medicaid Coverage for Parents under the Affordable Care Act
This issue brief presents national estimates of the number and characteristics of uninsured parents who would be eligible for Medicaid in 2014 according to whether they have child who is currently enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP coverage or an uninsured child who is eligible for Medicaid/CHIP but not enrolled. State-specific data are also provided on the ten…
-
Katie Beckett’s Legacy Lives On
By Jocelyn Guyer It was with a heavy heart that I read the news that Katie Beckett had passed away. As many Say Ahhh! readers know, Katie Beckett and her mother Julie helped create the home and community based waivers known as the “Katie Beckett waivers”. They made it possible for those with long-term disabilities…
-
Medicaid Controls Health Care Costs Better than Other Insurers
By Tara Mancini Since 2008, we’ve heard reports about growing Medicaid enrollment and consequently, a rise in its cost (which was mainly incurred by the federal government). Of course we now know that the increases in Medicaid enrollment, and subsequently Medicaid spending, coincided with the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. And by now, Say…
-
Medical Homes: Local Focus, Better Health
As policymakers across the country look to balance their budgets, some are turning to Medicaid, recycling the same harmful policies they’ve used year-after-year: eliminating coverage for vulnerable Americans, restricting critical benefits like prescription drug coverage, imposing premiums on those who can’t afford them, and slashing already-low provider reimbursement rates. Community Catalyst and Georgetown University Health…
-
Medicaid Primary Care Services get An Overdue Raise
Primary care is one of our best buys in health care because of its proven effectiveness in improving health outcomes and avoiding more costly health services. This is particularly true for children as they move through different phases of development, and people with chronic health conditions. But it’s also a well-known fact that primary care…
-
Sequestration Replacement Cuts Could Unravel the Country’s Success in Covering Children
The House Energy and Commerce Committee, charged with finding offsets to avoid reductions to defense spending, has passed a package of cuts totaling $113 billion. The package includes the elimination of two provisions that have helped to drive down the number of uninsured children to the lowest level on record: 1) repeal of the stability…
-
House Budget Committee Reports Out Bill to Eliminate MOE & CHIPRA Bonus
By Jocelyn Guyer In an effort to circumvent the bipartisan debt ceiling agreement reached last year, the House Budget Committee passed a measure Monday that, if enacted, would undermine the success our nation has achieved in driving the uninsured rate for children down to a record low. (It has numerous other issues as well, and…
-
Medicaid Primary Care Services Get An Overdue Raise
Primary care is one of our best buys in health care because of its proven effectiveness in improving health outcomes and avoiding more costly health services. This is particularly true for children as they move through different phases of development, and people with chronic health conditions. But it’s also a well-known fact that primary care…
-
Wisconsin’s 1115 Waiver Approved – Bad News/Good News
By Wesley Prater Medicaid waivers have been a very hot topic lately! Just take a look at my colleague Joan Alker’s blog on recent action around waivers. You may have heard that CMS recently approved Wisconsin’s 1115 waiver for the state’s BadgerCare program. Most of the changes will affect adults with incomes over 133% of the…
-
Waiver Frenzy
Interesting events have kept Medicaid waiver watchers very busy in the last week. On Friday April 27th final regulations creating new requirements for state and federal public process to allow for public input when Medicaid waivers are developed and considered went into effect. A summary I did with Samantha Artiga at Kaiser Commission on Medicaid…