Medicaid and CHIP – Page 2 – The National Academy for State Health Policy

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Sign and Deliver: Using Technology to Speed up Eligibility & Enrollment

More and more states are seeking opportunities to use technology to simplify and streamline the Medicaid and CHIP application processes. Allowing families to submit and sign coverage applications electronically or via the telephone are a couple of ways to ease the documentation burden on families. States that have implemented electronic and telephonic signatures also report administrative cost savings and fewer procedural denials for a failure to return paperwork.
The Affordable Care Act requires states to accept applications online and by telephone, so using these tools can help states prepare for health reform implementation and increase program efficiency now. This webinar will explore how two Maximizing Enrollment for Kids state grantees, Alabama and Wisconsin, are using technology to reduce incomplete coverage applications and hasten enrollment for eligible individuals. Alabama will discuss how the state’s Medicaid and separate CHIP programs implemented its online application and accompanying e-signature. Wisconsin will share its experience and lessons learned in developing and operating its policy for allowing telephonic signatures for coverage applications.
Speakers:

James Jones, Deputy Medicaid Director, Wisconsin
Vicki Jessup, Chief, Policy Section, Wisconsin
Viki Brant, Director of Program Operations and Professional Services, Alabama
Gretel Felton, Director, Certification Support Division, Alabama
Donna Cohen Ross, Senior Advisor, Office of External Affairs, CMS

Paving an Enrollment Superhighway: Bridging State Gaps Between 2014 and Today

March 10, 2011/in Policy Reports /by NASHP Staff

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides a transformative vision for eligibility and enrollment in public and publicly subsidized health coverage: an enrollment superhighway that is streamlined, modern, seamless, integrated, easy for consumers to use, and connects Medicaid, CHIP and Exchange coverage. This vision contrasts sharply with most states’ welfare-era, paper-based systems that rely on complex eligibility rules and outdated technologies. This paper frames ACA’s vision and discusses gaps between 2014 and today and opportunities to close these gaps in four key areas: 1) Consumer Experience; 2) Eligibility and Enrollment Policy; 3) Technology and Systems Infrastructure; and 4) Governance and Administration.
Supported by the California HealthCare Foundation, based in Oakland, California.

bridging.state_.gaps_.pdf

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Maximizing Enrollment for Kids: Results from a Diagnostic Assessment of Enrollment and Retention in Eight States

March 3, 2010/in Policy Reports /by NASHP Staff

Maximizing Enrollment for Kids, a $15 million initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) launched in June 2008 and directed by the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), aims to increase enrollment and retention of eligible children into Medicaid and CHIP programs and to establish and promote best practices among states.
In the first year of the Maximizing Enrollment for Kids program NASHP collaborated with Health Management Associates (HMA) to conduct a baseline assessment of each grantee states’ policies and processes for enrolling and retaining children in coverage. The findings of these assessments provide a foundation for the work of these states over the next three years to improve enrollment of eligible children. These reports summarize the information gathered from the assessments of all eight states (Alabama, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin), organized by themes of states’ work identified through that process, and presented as strengths, challenges and opportunities in each area.

Synthesis	1.3 MB
Eight States	1.3 MB
Alabama	1.2 MB
Illinois	1.2 MB
Louisiana	463.7 KB
Wisconsin	473.1 KB
Massachusetts	1.1 MB
New York	496.2 KB
Utah	1.2 MB
Virginia	488.6 KB

Finding and Keeping Eligible Populations: Transformative Tools for Tough Times

September 28, 2009/in Policy Webinars Health Coverage and Access /by NASHP Staff

Many states have worked to ensure that people who qualify for Medicaid and CHIP enroll into those programs. Despite these efforts, many who qualify remain without coverage. Tough economic times only heighten the challenge as they require states to find and enroll newly eligible people despite budget cuts and hiring freezes. Participants in this afternoon-only preconference will explore successful state strategies to enroll and retain vulnerable populations. They will also learn about innovative tools some states are using to meet the challenges of doing more with less, such as online applications, electronic data-sharing, application assistance, retention strategies and outreach campaigns.

Speakers:

Becky Pasternik-Ikard, State Medicaid Chief Operating Officer, Oklahoma Health Care Authority
Darlene Hughes, Medicaid/CHIP Eligibility Policy Director, Louisiana Dept of Health and Hospitals
Carolyn Pitzi, Director of Outreach, Massachusetts Office of Medicaid
Cathy Caldwell, CHIP Director, Alabama Department of Public Health
Catherine Hess, Senior Program Director, Maximizing Enrollment for Kids; Senior Program Director, NASHP
Vicki Grant, Vice President, Southern Institute on Children and Families
Yvette Woodland, Medical Program Manager, Utah Division of Workforce Services

Maximizing Kids’ Enrollment in Medicaid and SCHIP: What Works in Reaching, Enrolling and Retaining Eligible Children

August 25, 2009/in Policy Reports Health Coverage and Access /by NASHP Staff

This report published in February 2009, with the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), was developed to help states improve their CHIP recruitment and retention efforts. Revisiting ideas summarized in a previous NASHP publication entitled Seven Steps Toward State Success in Covering All Children Continuously, this brief provides more concrete information for states seeking to take the next steps in enrolling more eligible, uninsured children. According to the authors, many states have successfully improved SCHIP enrollment and retention through implementing some of the key themes identified in the report. In addition, the report suggests that states can increase enrollment in Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) without massive changes in policy – providing ideas on how to build on existing administrative and public outreach efforts.
Max Enroll Report

Express Lane Eligibility and Beyond: How Automated Enrollment Can Help Eligible Children Receive Medicaid and CHIP

June 10, 2009/in Policy Reports Health Coverage and Access /by NASHP Staff

As states work to insure more children in challenging economic times, a new report funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) explores how states can identify and enroll eligible but uninsured children by borrowing automated strategies that have proven effective in helping eligible people receive other public and private benefits. Authored by Urban Institute researcher Stan Dorn in collaboration with the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), the report details how auto-enrollment strategies have the potential to identify, enroll and retain large numbers of eligible children while reducing state administrative costs. The report explains how the recently enacted Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) makes these strategies substantially easier for states to implement while establishing powerful new financial incentives for states to reach the greatest possible number of eligible children.
Express Lane Eligibility and Beyond: How Automated Enrollment Can Help Eligible Children Receive Medicaid and CHIP discusses CHIPRA’s new Express Lane Eligibility option, which lets states grant health coverage when information already in the hands of government agencies shows that children are eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
The report finds:
• 89 percent of uninsured children who qualify for Medicaid and CHIP live in families who file income tax returns.
• 96 percent of children who receive free school lunches have family incomes low enough to qualify for Medicaid or CHIP.
• Only one-tenth of one percent of children who receive Food Stamps are ineligible for Medicaid and CHIP in states that take full advantage of CHIPRA.

Beyond the Basics: Enrollment and Retention of Hispanic Children in SCHIP

April 2, 2009/in Policy Reports /by NASHP

This paper examines effective outreach strategies aimed at the Hispanic community, cultural barriers to enrollment and retention/covering undocumented children, and cultural competence in an increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse population. The material is based on a March 2002 meeting of SCHIP directors and representatives from community, health, and Hispanic advocacy organizations in 11 states.
While the symposium and this paper focus on the narrow issue of increasing Hispanic enrollment in SCHIP, many of the themes identified here apply equally to Medicaid and may also be relevant to other minority populations and other state programs.

SCHIP_hispanic_enrollment.pdf

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A State Guide to Online Enrollment for Medicaid and SCHIP

April 2, 2009/in Policy Reports /by NASHP

This paper is designed as a resource for states considering, designing, and/or implementing online enrollment systems for their Medicaid and SCHIP programs. It explores the advantages, disadvantages, and implementation issues of these online systems.

SCHIP Online Enrollment

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Maximizing Kids’ Enrollment in Medicaid and SCHIP: What Works in Reaching, Enrolling and Retaining Eligible Children

February 11, 2009/in Policy Reports Health Coverage and Access /by NASHP Staff

Nearly two thirds of the nation’s 8.9 million uninsured children are eligible but not enrolled in Medicaid and SCHIP. This new report from the National Academy for State Health Policy, the National Program Office for the Maximizing Enrollment for Kids program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, examines strategies states can use to increase enrollment in these two programs.
Building on a 2006 NASHP report, the new paper reviews literature and expert opinions to elaborate on seven strategies states can implement to maximize enrollment for uninsured children eligible for public coverage. From simplifying the enrollment process to implementing the latest technology and urging political leaders to make enrollment a priority, the report lays out key steps that states may consider when tackling the difficult issues of making sure the pathways for enrollment and renewal for all eligible children are as efficient as possible.
The seven strategies states can pursue are:
• Keeping enrollment and renewal procedures simple
• Reaching out through community-based organizations and institutions
• Using technology to coordinate programs and reduce administrative burdens
• Changing agency culture to promote enrollment
• Engaging leaders to champion the goal of enrolling children
• Engaging partners to help reach enrollment goals
• Using marketing to promote enrollment in public programs
The report contains important information for states on each of these strategies and can be an invaluable tool for policy makers, program administrators, children’s health care advocates and others concerned with children’s health.

Maximizing Enrollment Report

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Posts

Sign and Deliver: Using Technology to Speed up Eligibility & Enrollment

Paving an Enrollment Superhighway: Bridging State Gaps Between 2014 and Today

Maximizing Enrollment for Kids: Results from a Diagnostic Assessment of Enrollment and Retention in Eight States

Finding and Keeping Eligible Populations: Transformative Tools for Tough Times

Maximizing Kids’ Enrollment in Medicaid and SCHIP: What Works in Reaching, Enrolling and Retaining Eligible Children

Express Lane Eligibility and Beyond: How Automated Enrollment Can Help Eligible Children Receive Medicaid and CHIP

Beyond the Basics: Enrollment and Retention of Hispanic Children in SCHIP

A State Guide to Online Enrollment for Medicaid and SCHIP

Maximizing Kids’ Enrollment in Medicaid and SCHIP: What Works in Reaching, Enrolling and Retaining Eligible Children

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