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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.
This policy watch examines recent trends in children’s poverty rates and the impact of expiring federal aid, explores recent changes in Medicaid coverage for children, and discusses what to watch as families contend with these compounding changes.
This policy watch describes recent trends in children’s COVID-19 and routine vaccinations and explores strategies to increase vaccination rates among children as we head into the winter season.
This policy watch post examines the United States’ measles elimination status, including what it means to eliminate measles, whether the current measles outbreak could threaten the country’s measles elimination status, and what losing that status might mean for measles control.
As rates of childhood vaccination decline and with measles on the rise again, a KFF Health Misinformation Tracking Poll, fielded in late February, examines the extent to which adults have heard and believe misinformation about the measles vaccine.
In light of worsening mental health among youth, strategies have been implemented to improve access to behavioral health services in recent years, including expanding school-based care for students. Leveraging Medicaid to improve and address gaps in school-based behavioral health services has been a key strategy in recent years as youth mental health concerns have grown. Provisions from the Safer Communities Act of 2022 utilize Medicaid to expand both school-based health care and other mechanisms of youth behavioral health care. This issue brief explores the implementation of these provisions from the Safer Communities Act thus far, with a focus on the guidance issued from CMS.
This analysis uses Medicaid claims data to follow a cohort of children newly enrolled in Medicaid in July 2017 in states with and without 12-month continuous eligibility to examine how children’s enrollment in Medicaid changes over time and understand the effect of continuous eligibility policies.
Concerns about youth mental health and access to care continues to increase. Schools can be an easy access point for behavioral health services and Medicaid provides significant financing for the delivery of these services in schools. In this analysis, we explore the strategies state Medicaid programs are taking to promote and improve access to school-based behavioral health services, and how recent policies call on Medicaid to expand access to care for youth, particularly in schools.
Nearly 1 in 5 Parents of Children Under 5 Say Their Child Has Gotten a Vaccine, up from 7% in July, Though Half Say They Will “Definitely Not” Get Their Child Vaccinated Less than a month after the Food and Drug Administration authorized new COVID-19 booster shots that target both the omicron and original strains,…
The pandemic continuous enrollment provision and other research show that continuous eligibility reduces Medicaid disenrollment and “churn” rates and helps to ensure stable coverage. As many Medicaid enrollees are currently experiencing disruptions in coverage as a result of the Medicaid unwinding, a number of states are pursuing strategies to help promote continuity of coverage, including through unwinding waivers and Section 1115 demonstration waivers. This Waiver Watch summarizes approved and pending Section 1115 waivers with continuous eligibility provisions for children and adults in Medicaid.
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