Tag Archives: Medicaid

Passage of Medicare Access CHIP Reauthorization Act

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4/14/2015

A Statement from First Five Years Fund (FFYF) Executive Director Kris Perry:

In overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion this evening, the U.S. Senate passed the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act by a vote of 92 to 8. This legislation heeds the demands of Republicans and Democrats alike to extend the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program funding through fiscal year 2017, providing $800 million for fiscal years 2016 and 2017.

Today’s action will protect funding for local programs that serve thousands of children and families across the U.S. for years to come. And, importantly, this is another in a long series of bipartisan investments that leaders in Congress have made in early childhood programs in recent years.

The MIECHV program is a federal-state partnership with long-standing bipartisan support in Congress and states due to the programs’ success in strengthening families and providing new parents with the critical skills needed to actively support their child’s early development and education. Law enforcement, business leaders, health professionals, educators and dozens of organizations have called for extending this funding—and Congress heard them loud and clear.

Evidence-based, rigorously evaluated home visiting services have proven to be effective strategies for improving outcomes for at-risk parents and children, while saving public resources over the long-term. When these quality programs are properly implemented, they lead to reduced health care costs, reduced need for remedial education and increased family self-sufficiency.

Source: The First Five Years Fund

Available at: http://ffyf.org/first-five-years-fund-statement-on-the-final-passage-of-the-medicare-access-and-chip-reauthorization-act/

Reducing Health Insurance Inequities among Latino Families Raising Children with Special Health Care Needs

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4/2015

Introduction
The Catalyst Center is committed to identifying and supporting policy and program initiatives that work to reduce inequities in health insurance coverage and financing among underserved children with special health care needs (CSHCN).

Children are more likely to have health insurance when their parents are also insured. This fact sheet explores:

  • The Medicaid expansion provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA);
  • A state option to provide 12-month continuous eligibility to parents and other adults;
  • How these policy initiatives have the potential to impact the insurance status of Latino CSHCN

Source: Catalyst Center

Available at: http://www.hdwg.org/catalyst/inequities-latino

Building a Partnership between Medicaid and Head Start

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Join the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services CMS and the Medicaid-CHIP State Dental Association MSDA for the Building a Partnership between Medicaid and Head Start webinar on Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 12:30 p.m. EDT. It is the eighth installment of the CMS Learning Lab: Improving Oral Health Through Access. Participants will learn about Head Start dental requirements and how Medicaid can help meet childrens needs. Discover the benefits of collaboration through examples from the Pennsylvania Head Start Association.

State Medicaid programs offer insurance to pregnant women, people with disabilities, and seniors. The Childrens Health Insurance Program CHIP also is a state-run health insurance program. It covers children from families who do not qualify for Medicaid but who cannot afford private insurance.

Topics for the webinar include:

  • Understanding the federal Head Start infrastructure and dental requirements
  • Oral health resources from the Administration for Children and Families and the Office of Head Start
  • Step-by-step process used in Pennsylvania to build a partnership between Medicaid and Head Start
  • Elements of Pennsylvania’s collaborative intervention and lessons learned so far

Presenters

Guest faculty for this webinar include:

Marco Beltran, DrPH,
Head Start program specialist,
Office of Head Start,
Administration for Children and Families

Paul R. Westerberg, DDS, MBA,
chief dental officer,
Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare,
Office of Medical Assistance Programs

Amy Requa, MSN, CRNP,
oral health coordinator,
Pennsylvania Head Start Association

Who Should Participate?

This webinar will benefit an array of audience members, including: Head Start and Early Head Start health managers and staff; Medicaid and CHIP liaisons; and anyone else interesting in building and supporting these partnerships.

How to Watch the Archived Webinar

To watch the archived video, select the link and submit registration information at: https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration

 

Brush Up on Oral Health: Medicaid and SCHIP

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August 2014

Medicaid is a state-run health insurance program for children from families with low incomes. Many, but not all, state Medicaid programs cover pregnant women, individuals with disabilities, and seniors. The Children’s Health Insurance Program CHIP also is a state-run health insurance program. It is for children from families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid but too low to afford private insurance. Undocumented children cannot be enrolled in either program.

This issue of Brush Up on Oral Health describes Medicaid and CHIP and explains why the programs are important. It includes strategies Head Start health managers can use to help parents find a dental office or clinic that accepts Medicaid and CHIP. The issue also offers a recipe for a healthy snack that can be made in the Head Start classroom or at home.

Source: National Center on Health and Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center

Available at: http://hsicc.createsend1.com/t/ViewEmail/j/B58AAF785777F703

Building a Partnership between Medicaid and Head Start

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Tuesday, Sept. 16, 201412:30–2 p.m. EDT

Register Online Now!

Join the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services CMS and the Medicaid-CHIP State Dental Association MSDA for the Building a Partnership between Medicaid and Head Start webinar on Tuesday, Sept. 6 at 12:30 p.m. EDT. It is the eighth installment of the CMS Learning Lab: Improving Oral Health Through Access. Participants will learn about Head Start dental requirements and how Medicaid can help meet childrens needs. Discover the benefits of collaboration through examples from the Pennsylvania Head Start Association.

State Medicaid programs offer insurance to pregnant women, people with disabilities, and seniors. The Childrens Health Insurance Program CHIP also is a state-run health insurance program. It covers children from families who do not qualify for Medicaid but who cannot afford private insurance.

Topics for the webinar include:

  • Understanding the federal Head Start infrastructure and dental requirements
  • Oral health resources from the Administration for Children and Families and the Office of Head Start
  • Step-by-step process used in Pennsylvania to build a partnership between Medicaid and Head Start
  • Elements of Pennsylvania’s collaborative intervention and lessons learned so far

Presenters

Guest faculty for this webinar include:

  • Marco Beltran, DrPH, Head Start program specialist, Office of Head Start, Administration for Children and Families
  • Paul R. Westerberg, DDS, MBA, chief dental officer, Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, Office of Medical Assistance Programs
  • Amy Requa, MSN, CRNP, oral health coordinator, Pennsylvania Head Start Association

Who Should Participate?

This webinar will benefit an array of audience members, including: Head Start and Early Head Start health managers and staff; Medicaid and CHIP liaisons; and anyone else interesting in building and supporting these partnerships.

How to Register

To register, select the link: https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration

Source: National Center on Health

EPSDT – A Guide for States: Coverage in the Medicaid Benefit for Children and Adolescents

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6/2014

The Medicaid program’s benefit for children and adolescents is known as Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment services, or EPSDT. EPSDT provides a comprehensive array of prevention, diagnostic, and treatment services for low-income infants, children and adolescents under age 21, as specified in Section 1905(r) of the Social Security Act (the Act). The EPSDT benefit is more robust than the Medicaid benefit for adults and is designed to assure that children receive early detection and care, so that health problems are averted or diagnosed and treated as early as possible. The goal of EPSDT is to assure that individual children get the health care they need when they need it – the right care to the right child at the right time in the right setting.

Source: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Available at: http://www.medicaid.gov/Medicaid-CHIP-Program-Information/By-Topics/Benefits/Downloads/EPSDT_Coverage_Guide.pdf

The Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation-Strong Start: First Annual Report | Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation | Administration for Children and Families

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1/3/2014

The Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation-Strong Start (MIHOPE-Strong Start), developed by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), funded by CMS, and implemented in partnership with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), uses a rigorous random assignment design to examine the effects of home visiting programs on birth outcomes and maternal and infant health and health care. The study will also collect and analyze rich information on local implementation processes. This report includes a description of the study and the similarities and differences between the two home visiting models that are included in the study: Healthy Families America (HFA) and Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP).

Source: Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families

Available at: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/resource/the-mother-and-infant-home-visiting-program-evaluation-strong-start-first

Confronting the Child Care Eligibility Maze: Simplifying and Aligning With Other Work Supports

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12/4/2013

This report, a product of the Work Support Strategies (WSS) initiative, helps states confront burdensome administrative processes that make it difficult for low-income families to get and keep child care benefits, and the cumulative challenges eligible clients face in trying to access other benefits (i.e. SNAP/Medicaid). Through concrete policy ideas and examples from states across the country, it offers an in-depth guide to help states not only simplify child care subsidy policies, but also to align child care policies with other work supports. With this information, states can improve service delivery for clients and staff, and reduce administrative burden.

Source: Urban Institute

Available at: http://www.urban.org/publications/412971.html

Medical Home & Patient-Centered Care

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2013

A medical home is an enhanced model of primary care that provides whole person, accessible, comprehensive, ongoing and coordinated patient-centered care. First advanced by the American Academy of Pediatrics in the 1960’s, the concept gained momentum in 2007 when four major physician groups agreed to a common view of the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model defined by seven “Joint Principles.” (For more information on the “Joint Principles” please go to www.pcpcc.net.) Since 2007, NASHP has been tracking and supporting state efforts to advance medical homes for Medicaid and CHIP participants. NASHP’s medical home map allows you to click on a state to learn about its efforts. Our work is supported by The Commonwealth Fund.

As of April 2013, 43 states have adopted policies and programs to advance medical homes. Medical home activity must meet the following criteria for inclusion on this map: (1) program implementation (or major expansion or improvement) in 2006 or later; (2) Medicaid or CHIP agency participation (not necessarily leadership); (3) explicitly intended to advance medical homes for Medicaid or CHIP participants; and (4) evidence of commitment, such as workgroups, legislation, executive orders, or dedicated staff.

Source: National Academy for State Health Policy

Available at: http://nashp.org/med-home-map

HHS awards $32 million in grants to sign up children for health coverage

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7/2/2013

Today, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced nearly $32 million in grants for efforts to identify and enroll children eligible for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The Connecting Kids to Coverage Outreach and Enrollment Grants were awarded to 41 state agencies, community health centers, school-based organizations and non-profit groups in 22 states; two grantees are multistate organizations.

“Today’s grants will ensure that more children across the nation have access to the quality health care they need,” said Secretary Sebelius. “We are drawing from successful children’s health coverage outreach and enrollment efforts to help promote enrollment this fall in Medicaid and the new Health Insurance Marketplace.”

Efforts to streamline Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and renewal practices, combined with robust outreach activities, have helped reduce the number of uninsured children.  Since 2008, 1.7 million children have gained coverage and the rate of uninsured children has dropped to 6.6 percent in 2012.

Grants were made in five focus areas:

  • Engaging schools in outreach, enrollment and retention activities (9 awards);
  • Reducing health coverage disparities by reaching out to subgroups of children that are less likely to have health coverage (8 awards);
  • Streamlining enrollment for individuals participating in other public benefit programs such as nutritional or other assistance programs (3 awards);
  • Improving application assistance resources to provide high quality, reliable Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and renewal services in local communities (13 awards); and
  • Training communities to help families understand the new application and enrollment system and to deliver effective assistance to families with children eligible for Medicaid or CHIP (8 awards).

These awards are part of the $140 million included in the Affordable Care Act and the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) of 2009 for enrollment and renewal outreach.

The grants will build on the Secretary’s Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge to find and enroll all eligible children and support outreach strategies that have been shown to be successful.

Grant amounts range from $190,000 to $1 million. For a list of grantees, please visit: http://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Fact-Sheets/2013-Fact-Sheets-Items/2013-07-02.html

Learn more at http://www.insurekidsnow.gov/

Source: US Department of Health and Human Services

Available at: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2013pres/07/20130702b.html