Medicaid and CHIP are catching uncovered kids, the ACA helps
Due to high rates of Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage for young children, only 3.3 percent of children ages three and younger were uninsured in 2016. Coverage of both...
View Article10-Year CHIP extension would save $6B
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that a 10-year extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program would cut $6 billion from the deficit, since the program allows the federal...
View ArticleEliminating individual mandate lowers cost of CHIP funding
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) lowered its estimate of the deficit impact of legislation that would fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for five years, finding that CHIP had...
View ArticleExpiration of federal funding threatens state CHIP programs
In light of the fact that federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) expired on September 30, 2017, the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) analyzed the impact upon states and...
View ArticleCHIP and DSHs face difficult financial roads without quick congressional move
Without congressional action, authorization for the Children’s Health Insurance Program will end on September 30, 2017, with the end of fiscal year (FY) 2017. Cuts to disproportionate share hospital...
View ArticleStates face budget shortages if Congress doesn’t extend CHIP funding
“Without federal funding [for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)], states would face budget pressures, children would lose coverage, and implementation of program changes could result in...
View ArticleHouse Committee urged to extend funding for federal safety net programs
Extend funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to ensure continuity of coverage for children, particularly in light of the current uncertainty surrounding other sources of health...
View ArticleMedicaid block grants would pose challenges for states
If federal support for Medicaid was transformed into a block grant to states, with a per capita cap set by Congress, the impact would vary widely on different states, according to participants in a...
View ArticleStates chosen to participate in community behavioral health clinic demonstration
The two-year Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) demonstration program will begin in eight states—Minnesota, Missouri, New York, New Jersey, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, and...
View ArticleOIG challenges industry to come up with an upgraded statistical sampling tool
CMS handles more than a trillion dollars in Medicare and Medicaid claims every year. Because not every claim can be scrutinized, statistical sampling is essential for effective oversight of these...
View ArticleArizona KidsCare restart estimated to help 40K children
Arizona will begin taking applications on July 26, 2016, for its government-sponsored health-insurance program KidsCare; coverage will begin September 1, 2016. As a result, the population of uninsured...
View ArticleKusserow on Compliance: OIG identifies the top HHS challenges
The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG), in its mid-year review of its work plan, included a summary of the Top Management Challenges (TMCs) facing HHS, along with associated recommendations for...
View ArticleHearing addresses physicians’ MACRA preparations
Lawmakers and physician leaders discussed the steps physicians are taking to prepare for Medicare changes under the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) (P.L. 114-10) at an...
View ArticleTargeted resources and Medicaid expansion are needed to cover the remaining...
Millions of nonelderly residents of the United States who remain uninsured after the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) (P.L. 111-148) will not gain coverage without...
View ArticleMedicaid MCOs ABPs, CHIP join the mental health parity party
CMS finalized proposals to strengthen access to mental health and substance abuse services for beneficiaries of certain Medicaid plans and Children’s Health Insurance Plans (CHIP), an initiative that...
View ArticleHighlight on South Carolina: New prescribing requirements and project to...
South Carolina has announced a change to its Medicaid program to require verification of controlled substance usage prior to writing a prescription and a new $30 million project designed to reduce...
View ArticleAdministration seeks to better align Puerto Rico’s health care with the mainland
While HHS has invested over $9.5 billion in Puerto Rico from 2009 to 2014 to improve health care systems and health outcomes of the 3.5 million Americans living in Puerto Rico, the Obama Administration...
View ArticleCMS extends temporary moratoriums for some HHAs and ambulance suppliers
CMS has released a notice that its temporary moratorium on the enrollment of ambulance suppliers and home health agencies (HHAs) in designated geographic locations is being extended to combat fraud,...
View ArticleMACPAC highlights cost, quality challenges in serving vulnerable populations
The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission highlighted the health needs and cost challenges in providing care to the diverse and vulnerable populations of Medicaid beneficiaries in its June...
View ArticleHospital association asks for focus on mental health parity
CMS should provide more oversight of Medicaid managed care organizations to ensure such operations are complying with mental health parity standards, according to the American Hospital Association...
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