The Catalyst Center has created a one-page infographic illustrating important elements of pathways to Medicaid coverage for children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN). This is one page in a series of infographics exploring key focus areas in the world of health care financing and coverage for CYSHCN.
These one-pagers are a visually appealing and easy way to share information about the system of care for CYSHCN with stakeholders. Resources for further exploration of pathways to Medicaid coverage are listed at the bottom of the infographic.
The Catalyst Center has created a one-page infographic illustrating important elements of Medicaid for children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN). This is one page in a series of infographics exploring key focus areas in the world of health care financing and coverage for CYSHCN.
These one-pagers are a visually appealing and easy way to share information about the system of care for CYSHCN with stakeholders. Resources for further exploration of Medicaid and CYSHCN are listed at the bottom of the infographic.
This article, published in the December 2015 issue of the Maternal and Child Health Journal, describes the process and results of a survey of parents and caregivers whose children with disabilities were enrolled in Louisiana Family Opportunity Act (FOA) Medicaid Buy-in program. Results suggest that the Louisiana FOA program fills a niche in coverage needs among families of children with disabilities in Louisiana; however, small sample size and significant differences between the sample enrolled in the FOA and the comparison groups limits how generalizable the results are.
This article, published in the Journal of Child Health Care, describes the process and results of a survey of parents and caregivers whose children with disabilities were enrolled in CommonHealth, the state’s Medicaid Buy-in program. Results suggest that the MassHealth CommonHealth program improves access to care for children with disabilities overall; however, the article identifies barriers to address in five domains to improve accessibility.
In March of 2017, Catalyst Center staff gave an in-person presentation to Congressional staffers on “Pathways to Medicaid Coverage for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs”. This presentation included an overview of the Catalyst Center, data on publicly funded coverage and financing of care for Children with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN), the importance of Medicaid coverage for CYSCHN with regard to adequacy, affordability and access to care, pathways to coverage based on 1) income alone, 2) income and health status, 3) severe disability and 4) involvement with the child welfare system (foster care). Finally, a variety of Catalyst Center technical assistance resources on Medicaid and CHIP were highlighted.
The Catalyst Center created two interactive worksheets for Title V program staff, family leaders, and other stakeholders. These worksheets provide an overview of Title V, and Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Each worksheet includes resources you can use to find and insert state-specific information to help demonstrate the importance of Title V, Medicaid and CHIP for children with special health care needs (CSHCN). The worksheets were created as companion materials to the Catalyst Center’s 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).
The Maintenance of Effort (MOE) provisions under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires states to keep the eligibility criteria for their Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that they had in place on March 23, 2010, the day the ACA was signed into law. Under MOE, states cannot make it more difficult to enroll in or renew Medicaid or CHIP coverage. For children in Medicaid and CHIP, the MOE provisions are in effect until September 30, 2019. States who violate the MOE provisions risk losing their federal funding match.
Section 2703 of the ACA describes a state plan option to provide health homes for Medicaid-enrolled individuals with at least two chronic conditions, one chronic condition and the risk of developing a second, or one serious and persistent mental health condition. This presentation, given at the 2014 AMCHP conference, provides and overview of this provision of the ACA, highlights strategies states have used to include CYSHCN in their Medicaid Health Homes, efforts for sustaining the Health Home after the two years of enhanced funding ends, and lessons learned.
Making It Possible to Care for Children with Significant Disabilities at Home
The Catalyst Center’s State Data Chartbook offers a comprehensive array of data from a variety of different sources on the coverage and financing of care for children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN). One of the data indicators found in the Chartbook under the topic area “Factors Influencing Health Insurance Coverage” tells users whether or not a specific state offers Medicaid eligibility to children either under the TEFRA state plan option or under a Katie Beckett home and community-based services waiver. This article provides an introduction to the two options and how they came into existence.
This policy brief explains what the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA) means in terms of creating additional pathways to Medicaid for children, a comparison of TEFRA and HCBS waivers, how TEFRA affects children with special health care needs, and suggested improvements that could provide further support to families.