1. Hawaii: Immigrant Media Campaign Phase 3
Hawaii Covering Kids completed the final phase of its Immigrant Media Campaign. Highlights and a comprehensive report in PDF format are at Immigrant Media Campaigns.
2. National: Advocates Kick-Off National Covering Kids & Families Network
Child and health care advocates converged in Washington, D.C. in late January for the inaugural meeting of the National Covering Kids and Families Network. The Network's goal is to provide advocates with an opportunity to share their experiences in advancing health insurance for more children and families in the U.S. The Network, led by the nonprofit Community Health Councils, is a natural outgrowth of the multi-year Covering Kids and Families--an effort funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focused on reducing the number of eligible but uninsured children and adults through enrollment in Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
While the nation debates various plans for health care reform, the Network is building nationwide support for high-quality, affordable health care for every child in every state. The Network agreed to a three-part platform for insuring America's nine million uninsured children, including: (1) Expansion of statewide health care for children including reauthorization of CHIP, (2) Greater flexibility from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in its administration of Medicaid and CHIP, and (3) Simplification of the application process for CHIP and Medicaid coverage. For more information about the Network's activities, including how to get involved, visit http://www.chc-inc.org/ckfNat.cfm.
3. Alabama: State to Continue Enrolling in Children's Insurance Plan
Alabama officials have decided against paring the rolls of the state's ALL Kids children's health insurance program this year after receiving assurances from Washington that the state won't get stuck with the bill down the road. "There's definitely still anxiety about it ... but if the feds say their intention is for you to continue operating as you are, I think we're at a point of saying, 'OK, we believe you,'" said Cathy Caldwell, director of ALL Kids, a state-federal partnership that provides health coverage for children in low-income working families.
ALL Kids and similar programs around the country have been at the center of a debate in Congress over federal funding, which covers most of the costs--78 percent in Alabama. The Democratic-controlled Congress twice passed legislation to increase spending and expand the effort. President Bush vetoed the bills, saying they were too expensive and would mark a shift toward government-run health care by cutting into private coverage.
Lawmakers eventually passed a status quo extension to keep the program operating through March 2009 as they work toward a compromise. But Alabama officials have worried that it might not be enough. At the current funding levels, the only thing keeping ALL Kids solvent is leftover money from earlier years, when the program was just getting started. With enrollment of nearly 70,000 children, the state anticipates that it will exhaust the leftover money by the end of 2008 and begin running short without a larger federal allotment.
To avoid absorbing any shortfall or making drastic cutbacks that could disrupt children's medical care, state officials considered freezing the ALL Kids rolls early this year by leaving open spots vacant when children leave, or even removing people. Anxiety grew when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the program, told the state recently that its projected 2008 allocation--based on a complicated demographic formula--would drop slightly from $74 million for 2008 to $72 million for 2008. Nonetheless, agency officials assured Alabama that states facing shortfalls will be covered, saying states would be allowed to draw on full-year 2009 funding if they ran short earlier in the year.
That was enough to sway Alabama officials, Caldwell said. "We are continuing to enroll all eligible applicants and our goal is to continue doing that," Caldwell said. "Obviously once the legislature comes into session they could do some redirecting, but as of right now that is our thinking." ALL Kids covers about 69,600 children whose families earn up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $41,300 for a family of four. State Health Officer Don Williamson asked state lawmakers at a budget hearing to continue supporting the popular program in the face of budget cuts. Several legislators voiced support for it, noting that it holds down costs by setting a strict income limit and by not allowing adults to enroll, as some states do. [Ben Evans, The Associated Press, 1/17/08]
4. National: Children's Insurance Extension Inadequate
The State Children's Health Insurance Program, which was hotly debated throughout 2007, is destined to remain a burning issue in the 2008 elections. Democrats fought to expand the program by $35 billion, but President Bush vetoed two different versions of CHIP expansion legislation as the Democrats gained Republican support, but not enough to override a presidential veto. The expansion would have been financed by new tobacco taxes.
Bush signed legislation extending the program for the next 15 months, the Associated Press reported. Get ready for the rhetoric casting blame on each side during the fall campaign. In the words of Reuter's news service, the development leaves "decisions about renewal to the next president and Congress." Reuters reported that the program covers some 6.6 million children, whose families don't qualify for Medicaid but can't afford insurance.
The situation is more complicated than merely holding down the federal budget. The program is crucial because it provides health care to children who would otherwise lack preventive care and then, when they get sick, end up in emergency rooms funded by local taxpayers. The American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, America's Health Insurance Plans and the Healthcare Leadership, which represents insurers, hospitals, pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies support CHIP expansion.
The uninsured visit emergency rooms more often, but wait longer before seeking care. The delay increases the severity of their condition and the cost of their treatment. As we have noted here before, 10 percent of patients consume 80 percent of health care dollars. And those dollars come from the pockets of taxpayers. Insurance is more cost-effective than emergency room treatment. Right or wrong, Bush made it clear that he wouldn't budge. By failing to find a middle ground that would have survived a Bush veto, congressional Democrats and Republicans have kept the nation on a penny-wise and pound-foolish path. [San Antonio Express-News, 01/01/2008]
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