WICS Live: Around the States

Nine States Awarded $72 Million for Boosting CHIP Enrollment: HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Friday, December 18th that Alaska, Alabama, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington were awarded the federal funds for improving access to health insurance to children through Medicaid and CHIP. Funding for the “performance bonuses” was included in the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization, which set performance standards for states to qualify for a bonus. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Washington: Large Waiting List for State’s Basic Health Program. As of mid-November, nearly 78,500 residents were on a waiting list for the program, which provides low-cost health care coverage to eligible state residents. That’s about as many that are current enrolled in the program. Recent state budget cuts are forcing the program to trim its rolls, rather than accept new members. As of July 1st, the program was subject to a 43% budget cut—the same time as the poor economy leaves more state residents without health insurance. In addition, current enrollees will face premium increases as of January 1st, which state officials believe will result in a drop in enrollment. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Tennessee: AccessTN Opened to Children with Chronic Medical Needs. Because the state has frozen enrollment in its CoverKids program as of November 30th because it reached its budgetary limit, the state December 3rd opened enrollment in AccessTN, the state’s high risk pool to children with chronic and acute conditions who would normally be eligible for the state’s expanded CHIP. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Montana: Healthy Montana Kids Faces Backlog of Applications. Montana: Healthy Montana Kids Faces Backlog of Applications. The program, which voters approved in 2008, had the goal of covering an additional 29,000 children by expanding Medicaid and the state’s CHIP. Currently, more than 2,300 families have applied to the program as of September, but only 740 children have been added due to a problem with a computer program. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Hawaii: With Existing Employer Insurance Mandate, States Looks to Opt Out of National Reform. For 35 years, the state has had a law on the books with an employer health insurance mandate. As a result, the state has one of the lowest uninsured rates in the nation. The Hawaii congressional delegation has inserted language into the House and Senate bills to protect the state’s Prepaid Health Care Act of 1974, should national health reform legislation pass. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Georgia: State’s Own Health Reform Efforts Result in Savings. Figures released November 12th show that the state saved between $123 million and $140 million over the past fiscal year by reforms implemented in the state’s Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids programs. Both programs utilize a concept called care-management organizations, which require a high level of interaction with beneficiaries and encourage healthful habits and increased interaction with their primary care physicians, rather than emergency rooms. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Tennessee: State Freezes CHIP Enrollment. As of November 30th, the state will not accept new applications for the state’s expanded CHIP, which provides coverage to children and pregnant women in families with incomes up to 250% of the Federal poverty level and do not qualify for Medicaid. There will be no service cuts to program beneficiaries already enrolled in the program. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Wisconsin: BadgerCare Plus Core Plan Reaches Maximum Enrollment. Governor Jim Doyle (D) announced October 5th that the program, which provides health insurance coverage for adults without children and not enrolled in any other health insurance program, has reached capacity and suspended enrollment as of October 9th. Those applying for coverage now are being placed on a waiting list. Doyle has directed the state Department of Health Services to design a proposal to provide some basic level of health coverage for those on the waiting list. Doyle said the state received 60,000 applications for the new program since the program began June 15th and most applicants had no income. The program must remain budget-neutral, which means the state can only afford to cover approximately 54,000 individuals. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Texas: Harris County Unveils TexHealth Harris County 3-Share Plan. Officials in Harris County, which includes Houston and Sugar Land, unveiled a new small business insurance option October 20th. Harris County alone has over 1 million uninsured residents; Texas has the nation’s largest uninsured rate. The 3-Share Plan, which hopes to make a small dent in the uninsured rate, will divide monthly premiums among the employer, employee, and a subsidy fund. In the program’s first two years, a $5.5 million subsidy pool will make insurance coverage available to 5,000 uninsured workers. Workers making less than $16 an hour would pay 17% of their monthly premiums. Workers making more would split the premium 50-50 with employers. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Minnesota: Governor Proposes Interstate Insurance Compact. In a letter to other governors October 21st, Governor Tim Pawlenty (R) asked his counterparts to join him in establishing an interstate health insurance compact that would call for standards in the health care market, enabling insurers to compete with one another across state boards. According to Pawlenty's letter, the proposed compact would allow states to share common regulatory standards, thereby facilitating the purchase of health insurance across state lines. It would also allow more insurers to do business in states would both increase competition and choice. The proposal would need Congressional consent and would also likely need legislative approval in Minnesota, since state law now requires health care insurers doing business in the state to be non-profit. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Iowa: State Creates New Prescription Drug Voucher Program. Under the new program, unveiled by the state Attorney general’s office September 22nd, eligible Iowans will obtain a voucher, present it to a participating pharmacy, and pay a $3 co-pay for a 90-day supply of medications for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, depression and other maladies. The program will use $420,000 from the state’s settlement with two drug management companies accused of consumer fraud. To be eligible for the program, individuals must be uninsured or under-insured or have an annual income less than 200% of the federal poverty level. More information is available at www.iowapdc.org. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Florida: State Develops Website to Compare State, Federal Privacy Laws. The new web tool,launched September 17th, also helps providers and consumers compare laws and regulations related to electronic health records and health information exchange. The site is available at http://www.fhin.net/PSresourceCtr/index.shtml. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

California: Governor Signs Bill Preserving Healthy Families Program. After the state’s financial problems and steep budget cuts threatened to eliminate the Healthy Families Program, the state’s CHIP, as of October 1st, Signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) September 23rd, AB1422 would raise $194 million a year in part by imposing a temporary tax on health care insurers that participate in the state's Medi-Cal program. The bill also would raise the monthly per-child premiums by $4 to $7 for some program participants. The state will also receive $81.4 million from the First 5 California state commission, which oversees Proposition 10 tobacco tax revenue to promote early childhood development. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Arizona: 10,000 Parents Lose Health Coverage As State Program Is Victim of Budget Cuts The KidsCare Parents program, which was an extension of the state’s SCHIP covering low-income working parents, ended September 30th after the state could not pay the $6 million cost to cover the program, following state budget cuts. The state will also lose $18 million in federal funds for administering the program. The state is facing an overall $3 billion budget shortfall. Governor Jan Brewer (R) said she was devastated by the program’s loss. Brewer is now concerned that KidsCare, which serves more than 50,000 children, could be cut in upcoming fiscal 2010-11 budget negotiations. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Alabama: State Plans To Enroll Thousands More Under All Kids Expansion. A major program expansion to All Kids, the state’s CHIP program, beginning October 1st, is expected to enroll 10,000 additional children in the program. The program will be extended to children in families making up to three times the federal poverty level (FPL), or $66,165 for a family of four. The previous limit was two times the FPL. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Wisconsin: HHS Extends SeniorCare Program: Governor Jim Doyle (D) and the state's congressional delegation announced August 18th that the state's prescription drug plan, SeniorCare, will be extended to 2012. SeniorCare, which was first initiated in 2002, offers a comprehensive prescription drug benefit to Wisconsin residents aged 65 and older with income at or below 200 % of the Federal poverty level (FPL) and are not otherwise receiving full Medicaid benefits. SeniorCare serves nearly 90,000 Wisconsin seniors.


In other news, the state plans to require competitive bids from managed care organizations (MCOs) to oversee the BadgerCare Plus program in populous southeastern Wisconsin for the first time. It is s part of a plan to save $600 million from the program, provides health insurance primarily for low-income families with children under 19. The state also plans to use the contracts to impose stricter performance requirements for MCOs that contract with the state for the program. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Oregon: Despite Budget, Health Care Reform Moves Forward: State lawmakers passed several initiatives during the legislative session to continue remaking the state’s health care system. One bill, HB 2009, established a Health Care Workforce Strategic Fund to “coordinate efforts to recruit and educate health care professionals and retain a quality workforce to meet the demand that will be created by the expansion in health care coverage, system transformations and an increasingly diverse population.” The bill also creates the Oregon Health Authority, the Oregon Health Authority Fund, and the Oregon Health Policy Board, the latter of which is charged with “ensur[ing] that Oregon’s health care workforce is sufficient in numbers and training to meet the demand that will be created by the expansion in health coverage, health care system transformations, an increasingly diverse population and an aging workforce.” Another bill, HB 2116, funds the Health Care for All Oregon Children program to provide health insurance coverage for uninsured children and also channels funding to community health centers to ensure services for low-income adults. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

New York: New Law Allows Unmarried Children to Remain on Parents’ Health Insurance: The new law, signed by Governor David Patterson (D) on August 5th is available to families with children up to age 29. More than 30% of the state’s uninsured population is between the ages of 19-29. Until now, many of those people became ineligible for coverage under their parents' policy after 19 or when they graduated from college. An increasing number are also unemployed or have low-paying jobs that do not offer health coverage. The new law took effect September 1st. The law also extends eligibility for COBRA-- which allows former employees to buy insurance from their company's group health plan at its full cost -- from 18 months to 36 months. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

New Jersey: State to Require Insurers to Provide Screening, Therapy for Children with Autism: Governor Jon S. Corzine (D) signed legislation August 13th, requiring individual and group health plans and health maintenance organizations in New Jersey to cover expenses associated with screening for autism and other developmental disabilities and provide medically necessary physical, occupational, and speech therapy. The legislation, which is effective 180 days after enactment, also requires insurers to cover up to $36,000 a year in expenses for medically necessary behavioral intervention for individuals younger than 21 who are diagnosed with autism. The mandatory benefit amount will be adjusted yearly for inflation beginning in 2012. Insurers are barred from denying coverage on the basis that the treatment is not restorative. Read more!

WICS Live: Around the States

Nebraska: State Expands SCHIP Program: Effective September 1st, children in families with incomes up to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) are eligible for Kids Connection, the state’s CHIP. The law raises the state’s income ceiling from 185% FPL to about $44,100 annually for a family of four. Nebraska joins 15 other states who have raised their income eligibility to 200% FPL. The Kids Connection expansion was part of the Legislature's response to the Safe Haven crisis last summer, in which parents dropped off 36 children at hospitals. Read more!