The Affordable Care Act and Value-Based Purchasing: What’s at Stake for Children with Medical Complexity?

The implementation of the ACA shifted the structure and design of public and private health care delivery and payment systems. In order to curb health care spending and improve quality of care and health outcomes, there has been tremendous attention to value as a criterion for health insurance options offered by payers. Value-based purchasing strategies, primarily (1) pay-for-performance (P4P); (2) accountable care organizations (ACOs), and (3) bundled payments, are geared towards achieving value by reducing costs while improving quality based on a predetermined set of performance standards including quality and cost measures. These strategies are discussed in this policy brief. 

Improving Access to Coverage for Children with Special Health Care Needs in the Face of Health Inequities: Strategies Reported By Family Leadership Organizations

The Catalyst Center interviewed staff from family leadership organizations in five states to learn about the barriers underserved families face and the strategies these organizations use to address health insurance inequities among CSHCN in their communities. This policy brief describes the strategies that help promote access to coverage and financing of care among CSHCN including racial and ethnic minority children, older children, those living in immigrant families or in families in which English is not the primary language, and those with the most significant functional limitations. 

Webinar: Medicaid and CHIP: Funding, Service Delivery, and Quality

This is the fourth webinar in a five-webinar series about the Catalyst Center’s latest technical assistance tool Public Insurance Programs and Children with Special Health Care Needs: A Tutorial on the Basics of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

What Changes Can I Expect From the ACA?

This webinar is an opportunity to learn about some of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that were designed to protect both eligibility and covered services for the 35.9% of children with special health care needs (CSHCN) who rely on Medicaid or CHIP (NS-CSHCN 2009/10 ). Participants will also learn about building partnerships amongst Medicaid, CHIP, Title V, patients, families, and other stakeholders to identify improvement projects in their state to better serve all children, including CSHCN.

The Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project: Combining Innovation and Collaboration to Enhance Children’s Mental Health Services in the Primary Care Setting

In this February issue of the Catalyst Center e-newsletter, we highlighted the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project, or MCPAP, as a best practice in increasing access to mental health services for the children who need them. Initiated in Massachusetts in 2004, the MCPAP model has since been implemented in nine other states and is in the planning phase in three more. It is recognized by families and practitioners alike as a best practice in increasing access and quality of mental health care services for children.