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This focus group report explores the perceptions, motivations, and experiences of low-income parents enrolling their children in Medicaid and SCHIP. The 11 focus groups were conducted in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and Miami in early 2007. Report (.pdf)
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued an August 17, 2007, directive that would restrict states’ flexibility to continue to apply income disregards when determining eligibility for Medicaid and SCHIP coverage for expansions to children above 250 percent of the federal poverty level. This issue brief describes the purpose of income “disregards” (which refer to both income that is excluded and expenses that are deducted from a family’s earnings); how disregards help enable children…
With Congress poised to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) with a substantial increase in its federal funding, there are potentially new opportunities for reducing the estimated 9 million uninsured children nationwide. At the same time, the nation’s weak economy and growing unemployment is resulting in fewer families and children covered by employer-sponsored coverage. Against that backdrop, the Kaiser Family Foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) released a package of new…
This issue paper updates the July 1999 report and provides a general overview of federal Medicaid eligibility policy for the low-income disabled population. This paper focuses on four broad groups of individuals with disabilities: children under 18; adults under 65 who are not living in institutions; adults under 65 who are living in institutions; and adults under 65 who are also eligible for Medicare. In addition, this paper includes the new eligibility options offered under…
Medicaid Managed Care's Impact On Safety-Net Clinics In California Medicaid Managed Care's Impact On Safety-Net Clinics In California was published in the January/February 2000 issue of the journal Health Affairs. The report provides an overview of Medi-Cal Managed Care in California, and its effects on community health clinics, and related issues. In order to better understand the impact that the Medi-Cal managed care program has had on California safety-net providers, the Kaiser Family Foundation supported…
SUMMARY OF CALIFORNIA VERSUS THE U KEY HEALTH CARE FACTS IN CALIFORNIA AND THE U.S. California U.S. Percentage uninsured (non-elderly) (1998) 24.4% 18.3% Percentage of children uninsured (1998) 20.8% 15.5% Percentage of non-elderly enrolled in Medicaid: 1998 11.1% 8.4% 1994 14.3% 10.0% Percentage of employers that offer health insurance (1999) 48% 61% Percentage of workers with access to coverage for "non-traditional" partners (1999) 31% 18% Average monthly HMO premium for family coverage (1999) $405 $445…
This report discusses the importance of maintaining health coverage for children who are discharged from foster care and presents strategies that state child welfare and Medicaid agencies can employ to reach this goal. In addition, the report also addresses the needs of children who age out of the foster care system at age 18, and discusses state options to expand health coverage to this group. Report
This policy brief provides an overview of recent Section 1115 waivers and a discussion of key issues. The HIFA initiative, combined with state fiscal pressures, have led to an increase in the number of states seeking Section 1115 waivers. Many of these recent waivers stake out new ground in terms of the scope of changes in coverage that they permit.
The second in a series of reports on implementation issues and challenges in the first year of S-CHIP finds that the five study states have not focused special attention on the unique service needs of this age group, such as risk assessment and counseling, reproductive and sexual health services, and mental health services, when designing their programs. REPORT Download
Out in the Cold: Enrollment Freezes in Six State Children's Health Insurance Programs Withhold Coverage from Eligible Children This report finds that six states were implementing enrollment freezes in their SCHIP program, leaving tens of thousands of eligible children without health coverage. Issue Paper (.pdf)
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