On Tuesday, January 20, the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) hosted a web briefing to present findings from our 13th annual 50-state survey of Medicaid and CHIP eligibility, enrollment, renewal, and cost-sharing policies. The survey provides a profile of where states stand as of January 2015, one year into the implementation of the major Medicaid provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The survey shows that as a result of the ACA Medicaid expansion income eligibility levels were substantially increased for low-income adults in states that expanded Medicaid, with continued robust coverage for children and pregnant women in Medicaid and CHIP across all states. It also finds that states have achieved significant progress toward modernizing and streamlining their enrollment systems under the ACA, but work continues in many areas.

Samantha Artiga, an Associate Director of the KCMU, moderated the web briefing.  Key findings were presented by report co-authors Jessica Stephens, a Senior Policy Analyst at the Foundation, and Tricia Brooks, Senior Fellow, Georgetown University Center for Children and Families.

A panel of state and federal officials involved with Medicaid and CHIP provided their perspective on the findings.  They included:

• Vikki Wachino, Deputy Director of the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

• Rex Plouck, Portfolio Manager, Governor’s Office of Health Transformation, Ohio

• Linda Nablo, Chief Deputy Director, Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services

• Judith Arnold, Director, Division of Eligibility and Marketplace Integration, New York State Department of Health