Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

A 4-page issue brief that looks at trends in employer-sponsored health insurance coverage in California. The brief also includes public and private sector strategies for expanding employment-based coverage, and discusses how other states have implemented incremental coverage expansions using public programs and financial incentives, with emphasis on New York State.…

This report examines the design and implementation of California’s State Children’s Health Insurance Program (known as Healthy Families), including contracting issues, program design and administration, and access to care by adolescents and children with special health care needs. This report is one of several appearing on this website from a…

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…

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.

An article in the January/February 2001 issue of Health Affairs by Judith Feder, Larry Levitt, Ellen O’Brien, and Diane Rowland assesses how best to expand health insurance coverage for the low-income uninsured. The article concludes that despite flaws in existing public programs, which can and should be remedied, strengthening programs like Medicaid…

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.

In 1997, Kaiser Permanente launched the Child Health Plan to provide subsidized health insurance for low income California children not eligible for Medi-Cal (California’s Medicaid program) or Healthy Families (California’s State Children’s Health Insurance Program). As part of a broader evaluation of the Child Health Plan funded jointly by the…

A study of California, Connecticut, Maryland, Missouri, and Utah CHIP programs show that the states have features in place for special needs children, but problems of provider availability and service authorization did sometimes occur. This is the first in a series of reports on implementation issues and challenges in the…

Immigrants' Access to Health Care After Welfare Reform: Findings from Focus Groups in Four CitiesA new analysis of focus groups in Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Antonio reveal immigrants' knowledge of and attitudes toward public programs such as Medicaid and CHIP. Themes explored include current health coverage, participation…

A new report details how the practice of express lane eligibility, or utilizing information from other public benefit programs, can quicken the enrollment of low-income children into the Medicaid and CHIP programs.