CISWH Project Resources

Financial hardship is common among families raising CYSHCN. This Catalyst Center policy brief describes the three distinct but interconnected pathways. 

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.

This interactive chartbook provides data on carefully selected indicators of health coverage and health care financing for CYSHCN in every state plus DC and Puerto Rico.

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. 

The Family Opportunity Act (FOA) is a state option for creating a Medicaid Buy-in program for families raising children with disabilities whose income is too high for Medicaid but less than 300% of the federal poverty level (FPL). This policy brief provides a methodology for estimating the impact of FOA implementation. 

This Catalyst Center policy brief explains the problem of under-insurance for CYSHCN and its impact on families. 

This report has its origins in a one-day meeting held with an expert panel in September 2011 on risk adjustment for children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN). This meeting was sponsored by the Division of Services for Children with Special Health Needs, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and facilitated by the Catalyst Center at the Boston University School of Public Health, with logistical support provided by John Snow, Incorporated.

The Catalyst Center has created a TEFRA and FOA Medicaid Buy-in Educational Worksheet that you can use to learn about the similarities and differences between these two programs. Using the attached instructions, you can fill out the worksheet with data on the insurance status of families in your state. We hope this tool will be a good introduction to how to use data to make your case for improving coverage for children and youth with disabilities.

This fact sheet provides an overview of Section 2703, the Medicaid Health Home Provision of the Affordable Care Act.  

Uninsured low-income CSHCN are less likely to have a usual source of care and are more likely to have unmet needs for routine medical and dental care than their insured counterparts. Unmet health care needs can be detrimental to any child; however, for CSHCN, who require more health-care services than their typically developing peers, barriers to needed health services – such as a lack of health insurance – can have long-term health consequences.