CISWH Project Resources

This infographic explains the important differences between Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Certain vulnerable subgroups of children with special health care needs (CSHCN) face underlying structural disadvantage in terms of health care coverage. Differences exist within the population of CSHCN based on race, ethnicity, income, immigration status, language, and level of functional difficulty. This tutorial clarifies the language used to describe these differences and provides tools and examples of policies, programs, and partnerships that users can adopt in their states to improve access to coverage and financing of care for the most vulnerable children. An accompanying interactive worksheet helps users distill the information presented to identify health care coverage and financing inequities that may exist for CSHCN in their state or organization. The completed worksheet provides information that may serve as a starting point for discussions in how to address inequities for CSHCN.
View description of webinar introducing this tutorial.

Efforts to reduce health care costs and promote quality have led to new ways to pay for health services. This glossary can help Title V staff, family leaders, policymakers, providers, advocates, and others become familiar with alternative payment strategy definitions.

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 guide, developed by the Access to Care Core (Catalyst Center, AMCHP and NASHP) of the National MCH Workforce Development Center, provides the building blocks for current and future Maternal and Child Health professionals to learn the basics of the Affordable Care Act and its implications for Title V programs.

While uninsurance among children with special health care needs (CSHCN) in the U.S. generally is low, several subgroups are less likely to be insured and may be at the greatest risk for adverse health effects associated with uninsurance.This fact sheet explores the issue of health inequities and CSHCN.

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.

In English
Desarrollado por el National Center for Medical Home Implementation de la Academia Americana de Pediatría y el Catalyst Center de la Escuela de Salud Pública de la Universidad de Boston

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. 

This fact sheet from the Catalyst Center explores strategies states can use to close the health care coverage and financing gaps experienced by Latino families raising children with special health care needs.