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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.
A key challenge for those implementing the reform law is how to manage churning, when people cycle in and out of public programs as their income varies.
The Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion provides a significant opportunity to increase health coverage and improve access to care for individuals experiencing homelessness, who historically have had high uninsured rates and often have multiple, complex physical and mental health needs.
This fact sheet provides an overview of the population health, health coverage, and health care delivery system in Virginia in the era of health reform under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
This issue brief provides an overview of health coverage and care in the South today, with a focus on demographics, the impact of the ACA coverage expansions, and ongoing efforts to improve the delivery system and safety net in the South.
The Alliance for Health Reform and the Centene Corporation sponsored a July 23 briefing to discuss the role of community health centers (CHCs) in providing care to vulnerable populations as employer-sponsored coverage declines and demand for safety-net services increase.
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, community health centers are serving as public health responders, especially for medically underserved populations. Health centers are a national network of safety net primary care providers who provided care to nearly 30 million patients in 2019, and disproportionately serve patients who are low-income, persons of color, uninsured, or publicly insured – groups that have been especially hard hit by the pandemic. This brief examines how health centers have adapted their service delivery models during the pandemic response and the current challenges they face continuing to meet patients’ needs.
A number of states have expressed interest in expanding managed care approaches within their Medicaid programs. While managed care may present an opportunity for better delivery of care, it presents challenges within certain populations and geographic areas.
This study, published in the journal Health Affairs, examines how five leading safety-net hospitals are preparing for major changes expected to result from the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including less government support for uncompensated care and the need to compete for newly insured people.
Medicaid covers nearly 60 million Americans. Because the population covered by the program is low-income, federal law limits the extent to which states can charge premiums and cost-sharing amounts, particularly for pregnant women, children and adults with incomes below poverty.
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