All NASHP Fact Sheets

This summary is intended to assist professionals who work in systems serving children, such as juvenile justice and child welfare. For more information about Medicaid and its key concepts as they relate to the juvenile justice system, see A Medicaid Primer for Juvenile Justice Officials. As of November 2007, 998,584 adults and children were covered under Washington’s Medicaid program and State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).  Washington operates its SCHIP program separately from Medicaid. The state also uses state-only funding to provide a low-cost health insurance option to adult residents. In federal fiscal year 2005, approximately $5.7 billion was spent for Medicaid services in Washington, and an additional $51 million was spent for SCHIP services. (These figures include spending for both adults and children.) The federal government supplied 51 percent of the funding for Medicaid and 65 percent of the funding for SCHIP.

This fact sheet briefly explores some of the choices states have made in program design over the past ten years, the success achieved in enrollment and helping to reduce the uninsured, and the improved results in access to care and health outcomes for children with SCHIP coverage.

Published in May 2006, this fact sheet was originally prepared for the NASHP symposium on child health coverage that was held in March.  It discusses challenges and opportunities for providing coverage through private health insurance options.  

This fact sheet briefly describes the rules governing the way income and resources are treated in determining financial eligibility for Medicaid for low-income individuals who qualify under one of the 25 eligibility groups or categories established by law.