CISWH Project Resources

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. 

As the possibility of national health care reform became a reality, the Catalyst Center identified three things children with special health care needs would need: Coverage that is universal and continuous, adequate, and affordable. 

Previous Catalyst Center calculations of costs per child for children with disabilities eligible for Medicaid coverage under the Family Opportunity Act were derived from Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates. In this revised estimate, we use information from the Medicaid Statistical Information System (MSIS) State Summary Datamart. 

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.

Legislative Policy Briefing

Nationwide, there is growing interest in the use of care coordination as an integral component of comprehensive, quality care provided within the medical home model for children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN). A broad range of stakeholders – family members, advocates, state Title V Children with Special Health Care Needs program staff, health insurers, and providers – have expressed a need to the Catalyst Center to be able to evaluate the benefits of investing in care coordination. The purpose of this policy brief is to help provide some guidance in thinking through the requirements for doing so.

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 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.

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.  

Maternal and Child Health Town Hall meeting, American Public Health Association annual meeting, Boston, MA.