Expanding Access to Care for Young Adults Through the Right Outreach and Enrollment Strategies
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) marked a historic expansion of access to health care for many people, and the federal and state exchanges will be a large part of that reform. Ideally, low- and middle-income consumers will buy insurance with subsidies through online health benefit exchanges, where they can compare the price, quality, and benefits [...]
SC Medicaid Director Seeks to Remove Roadblocks to Medicaid Enrollment
By Sue Berkowitz While South Carolina is often a state cited for being first on list for outcomes that are bad and last in those that are good, we have some surprisingly positive news. The South Carolina Medicaid director Tony Keck, in his 2012-13 budget request to Gov. Haley, asked for an additional $35 million [...]
Updated Research Gives Fresh Clues on Reaching Uninsured Children
by Tricia Brooks A recent survey by Lake Research Partners refreshes our knowledge of barriers to enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP. Commissioned by CMS for its Connecting Kids to Coverage initiative, the survey interviewed nearly 2,000 parents with income at or below 250% of the poverty level; about one-third each with uninsured children, children enrolled [...]
Medicaid & CHIP Approval Rating Higher than Employer Coverage Among Parents
By Tricia Brooks Consistently over the years, studies have shown a high level of satisfaction by parents whose children are covered by Medicaid or CHIP. So it’s no surprise that a recent survey conducted by Lake Research Partners for CMS confirms this finding once again. What is somewhat surprising is that parents with kids enrolled [...]
Every Child Covered! A Blog-A-Thon To Connect Kids to Care
In partnership with Cathy Hope and the Say Ahhh! blog Despite the increase in childhood poverty, our nation has managed to reduce the number of children going without health insurance during these tough economic times thanks to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. This is great news but there is more work to be [...]
Connecting Kids to Coverage: A Message from Secretary Kathleen Sebelius
No child or young person should have to skip a doctor’s appointment or go without the medicine they need because their family can’t afford it. That shouldn’t happen in America, and that’s why the Obama Administration made children’s health coverage a priority from the start. When President Obama took office, there were 8 million uninsured [...]
Using Mobile Phones to Help Families Access Vital Medicaid Coverage
Recent data shows that people of color and low-income populations are adopting mobile technology at a rapid pace and are increasingly using mobile tools to access the Internet. These tools enable new ways of interacting with the government and enrolling in public services. Instead of standing in line at the DMV, renewing a driver’s license [...]
Talking Enrollment in the Windy City
My colleague Ani and I had the pleasure of attending the Second National Children’s Health Insurance Summit earlier this month in Chicago. The gathering, hosted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), was the official kick-off for the second round of outreach and enrollment grants that CMS awarded to 39 different groups in [...]
Children’s Health is a National Priority
When it comes to the health of our nation, United Way cares about ensuring that everyone has health insurance, that folks eat well, and that Americans remain active and energized. Specifically for children, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program provide vital health care to children whose families don’t receive coverage from their employer, or [...]
Over my carry-on bag….
Only an industry that thought it was a good idea to charge customers for checking bags (something people already don’t want to do!), could possibly come up with this genius idea. Wait for it… assigning children in seats away from their parents. Honestly, it’s so outrageous, it makes me laugh (but that unhinged laugh that [...]
Paid Sick Days: Healthier Families, More Than $1 Billion in Savings
By Vicki Shabo, Director of Work and Family Programs, National Partnership for Women & Families Health reform has underscored the imperative to increase access to health care, improve quality and reduce costs. According to a thought-provoking new report released by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) this week, paid sick days can – and should [...]
Medicaid a Lifeline for Families
It is an understatement to say that families are facing tough times today. As a single and unemployed mother to two small children, I certainly am. Because of that, now is the wrong time to cut the little social safety net we have left in this country. For many of us, slashed Medicaid funding, for [...]
Paid Sick Days and Health: Cost Savings from Reduced Emergency Department Visits
This week, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) released Paid Sick Days and Health: Cost Savings from Reduced Emergency Department Visits, in which my coauthors and I review findings about the connection between health and access to paid sick days, using publicly-available data from the National Health Interview Survey. Our analyses show that, even [... ]
Tell the super committee: Protect investments in America’s children
“Think of the debt we’re leaving the next generation,” deficit hawks will often remark. Yet sometimes the cuts they propose are our most important investments in the next generation. We need to make sure that when we balance the budget, we’re not leaving behind a different kind of a debt: a human deficit. Next week [...]
Census Report Shows Inequality in Paid Leave
Last week, the U.S. Census Bureau released a report that found that almost 51 percent of working women who gave birth to their first child between 2006 and 2008 received paid leave (which includes sick leave and vacation time), compared to 42% between 1996 and 2000. While the new figures represent progress, it’s hardly time to [...]
We Need to Protect Our Seniors During the Recession
The Congressional Super Committee is in charge of proposing a plan to significantly cut our federal deficit, and I am one of the millions of Americans watching their recommendations closely. I am particularly concerned that they will suggest short-sided cuts to critical programs like Medicaid that keep our communities strong and healthy. I know firsthand [... ]
Medicaid a Lifeline for Families
It is an understatement to say that families are facing tough times today. As a single and unemployed mother to two small children, I certainly am. Because of that, now is the wrong time to cut the little social safety net we have left in this country. For many of us, slashed Medicaid funding, for example, [...]
Fighting to Sell Junk Food to Kids: Really, grocery manufacturers? That’s your highest priority?
Think of all the things that food manufacturers could be doing to improve the nation’s health. They could reduce the amount of salt in packaged foods to help prevent blood pressure from rising. They could make healthier foods for school lunches. And they could use their billions of advertising dollars to encourage children (and their [...]
All I Want Is Everything
From Your (Wo)manInWashington blog MOTHERS changing the conversation @ www.MothersOughtToHaveEqualRights.org Working Mother magazine asked 3,781 mothers how they wanted to run their lives and what they needed in order to do that. I’ve looked at the results closely and come to two main conclusions. First, every mother will think other mothers are happier or are [...]
It’s time for America’s 99 percent to weigh in!
You’ve got to give them credit. They’ve got a lot of nerve. Unbelievably, details are surfacing about a plan proposed by Senator Toomey (R-PA) and some of his colleagues on the Congressional “Super Committee” that would actually REDUCE tax rates for millionaires while cutting essential services for children, youth, and the elderly. In fact, Senator [...]