New CHIPRA Opportunity: Express Lane Eligibility
The Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) provides states with new tools to reach, enroll and retain eligible but unenrolled children in Medicaid and CHIP. One such tool is the option to develop and implement Express Lane Eligibility (ELE), which allows states to enroll and renew children in Medicaid and CHIP based on eligibility findings of other government agencies.
While a number of states had begun to pursue automated strategies to increase enrollment prior to CHIPRA, the ELE provision is expected to provide states with opportunities to further reduce existing barriers and simplify enrollment and renewals. With the support of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) presented this web seminar to explore the ELE option.
The webinar includes an overview of the ELE option in CHIPRA, including a look at early experiments with ELE that fed into how the law was drafted. We heard from a national expert who has studied the experiences of other public programs’ use of automated strategies and who explored how states can use automation, and the options in ELE, to identify, enroll and retain children in health coverage. Finally, we learned about two states’ current efforts to implement ELE, including the initial steps they took prior to CHIPRA and their expectations for results using the new tools in CHIPRA.
Speakers
For individuals living with complex, often chronic conditions, and their families, palliative care can provide relief from symptoms, improve satisfaction and outcomes, and help address critical mental and spiritual needs during difficult times. Now more than ever, there is growing recognition of the importance of palliative care services for individuals with serious illness, such as advance care planning, pain and symptom management, care coordination, and team-based, multi-disciplinary support. These services can help patients and families cope with the symptoms and stressors of disease, better anticipate and avoid crises, and reduce unnecessary and/or unwanted care. While this model is grounded in evidence that demonstrates improved quality of life, better outcomes, and reduced cost for patients, only a fraction of individuals who could benefit from palliative care receive it. 
