This Catalyst Center policy brief describes the impact of the CommonHealth program and its relevance to the Massachusetts health care reform experience.
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Case Study: Buying into a Medicaid Buy-in Program: The Texas Experience
Family advocacy efforts coupled with legislative support resulted in the creation and implementation of a Medicaid Buy-in program for families raising children with disabilities in Texas.
Breaking the Link Between Special Health Care Needs and Financial Hardship
Having health insurance doesn’t automatically protect families of children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) from financial hardship. In the first edition of Breaking the Link, produced in 2009, the Catalyst Center identified three pathways that lead to financial hardship and medical debt, with examples from the lives of real families. In the second edition, produced in 2017, we revisit the impact that health care financing and coverage gaps have on the lives of real families and highlight innovative policy solutions that can improve the system of care for CYSHCN.
Slides from the accompanying webinar that took place on April 26, 2017 are also available.
Mandated Benefits: Essential to Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs
Mandated benefits are health care benefits or services that, with some important exceptions) private health insurers must cover. Every state mandates at least some health benefits, depending on emerging issues in that state.
Relief Funds: A Safety Net for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs
Relief Funds pay for services families incur for their children and youth with special health care needs/disabilities that are not covered by private insurance, Medicaid, or any other public or private programs. Relief Funds function as a payer of last resort for families who struggle financially to meet the health care needs of their children and can help relief family financial hardship.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Family Opportunity Act’s Medicaid Buy-In Option
This Catalyst Center policy brief provides answers to frequently asked questions about the Family Opportunity Act (FOA) Medicaid Buy-in option, including what the advantages are for families raising children with disabilities and states, how it affects existing pathways to Medicaid, and any costs for families.
Payer of Last Resort: Medical Debt and Financial Hardship Among Families Raising Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs
Financial hardship is common among families raising CYSHCN. This Catalyst Center policy brief describes the three distinct but interconnected pathways.
Medicaid as a Second Language: A Slightly Irreverent Guide to Common Medicaid Terms, Acronyms and Abbreviations
This guide is designed for policymakers, advocates, legislators, consumers, family members, and providers – in short, for anyone interested in financing care for children and youth with special health care needs at the state level, and in particular through the Medicaid program.
Reducing Under-Insurance for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs
This Catalyst Center policy brief provides information about Medicaid Buy-In Programs including what they are, how they work, how they help both families raising Children & Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN)/disabilities and the states. Learn about existing Medicaid Buy-in programs in three states.
A Call to Action for Social Work: Minimizing Financial Hardship for Families of Children with Special Health Care Needs
Families face significant challenges in caring for their CSHCN. For many families, one of these challenges is the economic impact of inadequate health care coverage. Families must make hard choices about how to spend limited salaries and then make substantial sacrifices in other domains to ensure adequate care for their children. But for other families, the resources to pay for care are simply not there. Children and youths who are uninsured or whose insurance does not pay for critical components of care may experience adverse outcomes in relation to health, development, and capacity to function because their families just cannot afford to pay for vitally needed care.