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A record 90 percent of children now have health coverage – more than a third of whom are covered by Medicaid and CHIP. Yet about 7.5 million children remain uninsured, including 5 million who are eligible for Medicaid and CHIP but not enrolled. Who are the at-risk kids? How are states faring with enrollment and retention? How will children and families be affected once major parts of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)…
Medicaid is the nation’s main public health insurance program for people with low incomes, and it is the single largest source of health coverage in the U.S., covering nearly 70 million Americans. Medicaid also finances 16% of total personal health spending in the nation. States design and administer their own Medicaid programs within federal requirements, and states and the federal government finance the program jointly. As a major payer, Medicaid is a core source of…
This report highlights states' innovative use of health information technology in their Medicaid and SCHIP programs to improve their ability to reach and enroll eligible children, improve the quality of care for children, increase communications with families, and continue to modernize their programs. Although many of these efforts are still in their early stages, findings to date indicate improvements in access to care, care coordination, case management, and administrative efficiency. States are pursuing ways to…
The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) provides states new options to reach and enroll eligible but uninsured low-income children into Medicaid and CHIP. The law's Express Lane Eligibility (ELE) provisions enable state Medicaid and CHIP agencies to identify, enroll and recertify children by relying on eligibility findings from other programs, such as Head Start or Food Stamps, rather than having to re-analyze eligibility under their own rules. Further, CHIPRA authorizes greater…
This post examines Medicaid’s current role in providing coverage for EPSDT and school-based health services, current challenges, and changes to these services included in the new the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government declared numerous types of emergencies, Congress enacted several pieces of legislation, and various executive actions were taken and waivers issued, which established time-limited flexibilities and provisions designed to protect individuals and the health system during the pandemic. This resource provides a timeline identifying key health-related flexibilities and provisions specified by these various measures, the specific measure that determines their end date, and their end date.
What do new Census Bureau data say about the uninsured? The uninsured rate remained at a near historic low of 8.0 % in 2023, per the Current Population Survey.
New poverty data show the supplemental poverty rate for children remains more than double what it was in 2021.
A revision made to the bill before it was considered by the Rules committee expanded the penalty from 14 states and DC that cover undocumented immigrants with state funds to 33 states and DC that use a federal option available in Medicaid and/or CHIP to expand coverage for lawfully residing children and/or pregnant people.
Secretary Kennedy's efforts to narrow the childhood vaccine schedule does not reflect the views of most parents, but KFF polling suggests it may have more appeal among President Trump's base.
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