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A new policy brief discusses issues involving over $11 billion of S-CHIP funds that states have not spent. It has been proposed that states could apply to use the funds for unemployed workers in these tough economic times. What are the implications? ISSUE BRIEF Download
This fact sheet, last updated in March 2001, discusses health insurance status of low-income children and reviews current programs to provide coverage to this population. FACT SHEET Download
The report reveals that the total number of children enrolled in state CHIP programs had grown to 2.3 million by June 2000, showing a steady increase in enrollment. The report is part of a larger project to track Medicaid and CHIP enrollment in all 50 states. REPORT Download
As Congress looks for ways to increase access to health care, existing programs such as Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program are often overlooked. Yet enrolling those who are eligible for such programs is one of the easiest ways to expand coverage. This briefing, co-sponsored by Alliance for Health Reform and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), looked at ways to streamline recruitment and enrollment, while exploring how expanding Medicaid and CHIP…
While Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) have become increasingly important sources of health coverage for low-income children in all racial and ethnic groups, the program plays an especially large role for children of color, who are more likely than white children to be low-income. In 2007, Medicaid and CHIP covered nearly one in five white children, but roughly two in five African American and Hispanic children. As policymakers engaged in health reform…
This fact sheet provides an overview of the reauthorization debate for the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Fact Sheet (.pdf)
This series of implementation briefs called “CHIP Tips” examines new opportunities for covering children following the reauthorization and expansion of CHIP in February 2009. Together Medicaid and CHIP provide coverage for more than one in four children in the U.S., yet many others remain eligible but uninsured. The series, which explores a range of topics, is jointly produced by the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured and the Center for Children and…
On May 5, 2009, the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance held a roundtable discussion on health-care coverage issues as part of its health reform efforts. Diane Rowland, the Foundation's Executive Vice President and Executive Director of the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, and Gary Claxton, Foundation Vice President and Director of the Health Care Marketplace Project, participated in the discussion and prepared written testimony at the committee's request. Testimony of Diane Rowland (.pdf)…
Child Health Facts: National and State Profiles of Coverage Nearly 10 million children in the United States lack health insurance coverage and over two-thirds of them or low-income. This databook provides baseline data on how many children are uninsured today and on the extent of Medicaid coverage. It provides astarting point to monitor and assess state efforts to reach and insure more children. Report
This brief examines a new requirement under the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 that state CHIP programs cover comprehensive dental benefits. The reauthorization law also allows states with separate CHIP programs to offer a dental-only plan for children who have other health insurance but lack adequate dental benefits. Other oral health improvements in the law include education for new parents, better access to benefit and provider information and enhanced reporting on the…
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