State Efforts to Cover Low-Income Adults Without Children
Most Americans assume that our health insurance safety net covers the poor, regardless of family status. In reality, a majority of uninsured Americans are low-income, childless adults who are not eligible for public health insurance programs. Out of the approximately 47 million people who are currently uninsured in the United States, 34 percent or 16 million people, are low-income childless adults.
Improving Access to Health Coverage for Transitional Youth
Youth in the juvenile justice and foster care systems often share many traits: a history of abuse or neglect, mental health and substance abuse needs, low incomes, and likely eligibility for public insurance programs. For both populations, custody transitions provide an opportunity to screen youth for Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) eligibility.
Examining a Major Policy Shift: New Federal Limits on Medicaid Coverage for Children
This State Health Policy Briefing explores recent decisions by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) which have serious implications for states striving to expand health coverage for children. Download available here.
Medically Needy: An Option Worth Revisiting?
Medicaid medically needy programs allow states the option to expand Medicaid coverage to people with high medical expenses and who otherwise would be ineligible due to income or resource limits. To qualify, individuals “spend down” into Medicaid coverage by paying out-of-pocket medical expenses to lower their income to a predetermined level.
State Efforts to Extend Dependent Coverage for Young Adults
This State Health Policy Monitor gives an overview of the key features of state laws designed to expand dependent coverage options for young adults.
Premium Assistance
This State Health Policy Monitor discusses the use of premium assistance, a program in which federal and state Medicaid and/or SCHIP funds help pay for employer-based or other private health insurance coverage, often using employer or enrollee fees to help pay premium costs. The program is used both as a strategy to cover individuals already eligible for Medicaid and to expand health coverage to the uninsured.
Financing State Coverage Expansions: Can New Medicaid Flexibility Help?
As states like Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine continue to implement their health reforms, other states are also considering ambitious coverage expansions. Financing is a key concern. In the past, states interested in drawing down federal Medicaid funds to expand coverage had two primary mechanisms available to them: filing a state plan amendment using available optional eligibility categories and income disregards, or applying for a Section 1115 waiver.
Administering a Medicaid + Tax Credits Initiative
A joint publication of the Health Insurance Reform Project at The George Washington University and the National Academy for State Health Policy
