Medicaid & CHIP

Medicaid provides health coverage to millions of Americans, including eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults and people with disabilities.The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provides health coverage to eligible children, through both Medicaid and separate CHIP programs. CHIP is administered by states, according to federal requirements. Both programs are funded jointly by states and the federal government.

Upcoming Events

March 28, 2024

Event Description This webinar will provide a deeper understanding into the role of Medicare, Medicaid, and private sector in providing care for dually eligible populations and discuss past and present policy efforts and strategies. Panelists will also identify potential future directions and approaches to improve care for dually eligible populations.  This webinar was sponsored by […]

Past Events

February 1, 2024

Event Description This roundtable featured former journalists and health care professionals to explore the current value-based care landscape, highlight anticipated policy discussions for the coming year, and identified key considerations for reporters and media experts. Learning Goals This event was made possible with support from the National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM).

January 24, 2024

This event featured an analysis of potential health policy priorities at both state and federal levels for this upcoming election year, and provided a review of major legislative milestones from 2023 and their potential implications for 2024.

June 21, 2023

Event Description Health care services have been moving out of facilities and into home and community settings gradually over an extended period of time. This trend accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Medicaid has offered home and community-based services (HCBS) as a subset of long-term services and supports (LTSS) that allows patients to receive health services […]

April 14, 2023

This panel provided a high-level overview of health care coverage programs in the United States, such as Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and employer-based insurance, as well as recent changes to coverage such as bolstering subsidies. This Session:

November 30, 2022

The November 8 midterm elections have reshaped the contours of federal health policymaking for the remainder of President Biden’s current term. While Democrats outperformed expectations retaining control of the Senate—with the potential of adding a seat—and limiting their losses in the House, Republicans have gained a majority in the House. As a result, avenues for […]

July 15, 2022

In light of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), the federal government implemented temporary changes to routine Medicaid, CHIP, and Marketplace eligibility and enrollment operations to help stabilize insurance coverage. Medicaid and CHIP enrollment has grown to nearly 85 million individuals due largely to the continuous enrollment condition. Over 3 million new consumers have joined […]

June 17, 2022

Download a summary of this event » Home and community-based services (HCBS) is a subset of long-term services and supports (LTSS) that allows patients to receive health services in their home or a local setting rather than a typically higher-cost institutional setting. Offerings include intensive, round-the-clock care through more wrap-around services such as caregiver support, home-delivered […]

March 30, 2022

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a series of Medicare and Medicaid regulatory flexibilities were implemented to help ensure access to care through expanded eligibility and enrollment, remote service delivery, alternative care sites, and more. Recognizing the programs’ critical roles in increasing access to care, federal policymakers approved funding to expand flexibilities over the course […]

January 28, 2022

This event was Part III of the Alliance’s Health Policy Roundup and 2022 Forecast series.  Download a summary of this event » While significant attention has been paid to shifts in national health policy, it is equally important to understand the promise, tradeoffs, and impacts on various stakeholders that state policies have demonstrated. Within the […]

January 21, 2022

This event was Part II of the Alliance’s Health Policy Roundup and 2022 Forecast series. Economic fallout and higher unemployment rates due to the pandemic have raised concerns about health insurance coverage enrollment and affordability in the U.S. Although the national uninsured rate remained mostly unchanged throughout the pandemic (at or around 10–11%), many eligible […]

November 30, 2021

The 2020 Census identified 9.7 million people as American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN), alone and in combination with another race. As upheld by the Supreme Court. the United States government has a “trust responsibility to provide services to American Indians and Alaska Native persons”. This doctrine upholds that, among other provisions, the federal government […]

November 9, 2021

Clinicians, hospitals, and health systems are searching for new ways to improve the oncology patient experience and promote health equity. The ongoing pandemic has complicated this push for improvement, as providers and health systems have had to change care delivery practices dramatically to protect patients from COVID-19. Furthermore, health equity has received significant attention over […]

Toolkits

Massachusetts Health Reform

Starting July 1, every adult in Massachusetts is required to have health coverage (except for 60,000 people exempted by the state). This toolkit, supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is designed to help you understand the state’s pace-setting near-universal coverage plan and its implications, with links to representative articles and documents from across the […]

Crowd-out and SCHIP

Congress and the White House are gridlocked on SCHIP reauthorization beyond November. President Bush has vetoed the first SCHIP bill to cross his desk. CMS has issued tough new rules governing when states can open up their SCHIP programs to children above 200 percent of the federal poverty. One reason for all of the above: […]

A Reporter’s Toolkit: The Uninsured

This toolkit offers links to resources that will help you understand who lacks health coverage in the U.S. and the consequences of being uninsured. We also offer links to proposals for change, including websites that track presidential candidates’ plans, as well as to public opinion polls and updates on state-level reform. This resource also offers […]

A Reporter’s Toolkit: Medicaid

This toolkit will help you understand who the Medicaid program covers, how it is financed, how it differs from Medicare, how states can alter Medicaid through federal waivers, and what the future holds for the program. This resource also offers story ideas, selected experts with contact information, selected websites and a glossary. This toolkit was […]

A Reporter’s Toolkit: Child Health Coverage

This toolkit offers links to resources that will help you understand how children in the U.S. get health coverage, and the importance of employer-sponsored coverage and public programs to children. We offer an overview of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), with an update on congressional reauthorization of the program. This resource also offers […]

Long-Term Services and Supports Toolkit: Changes and Challenges in Financing and Delivery

The aging of the baby boomers and the increase in the number of old-old persons (those 85 and older) are predictors for the increasing need for long-term services and supports (LTSS). Among persons age 65 and over, an estimated 70 percent will use LTSS. A new Alliance for Health Reform toolkit, “Long-Term Services and Supports: […]

Sourcebook Chapters

State-federal partnerships that provide health coverage for people with low incomes, children, pregnant women, parents of dependent children and disabled individuals.

Policymakers

Members of Congress, Congressional and agency staff, federal, state, and local legislators.

Health Care Stakeholders

Industry stakeholders, practitioners and providers, patient advocates, community organizations, academics.

Media

Members of the press, journalists, public relations professionals.