Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Play

Texas lawmakers consider legislation to prevent cities from self-governance, Connecticut considers policy options to alleviate an eviction crisis, and Ohio residents await community water systems.

Play

Gov. Ron DeSantis breaks his silence on Trump's potential indictment and attacks Manhattan prosecutors, President Biden vetoes his first bill to protect socially conscious retirement investing, and the Supreme Court hears a case on Native American water rights.

Play

The 41st state has opted into Medicaid which could be a lifeline for rural hospitals in North Carolina, homelessness barely rose in the past two years but the work required to hold the numbers increased, and destruction of the "Sagebrush Sea" from Oregon to Wyoming is putting protection efforts for an itty-bitty bunny on the map.

Report: Thousands of Ohio Kids Risk Losing Medicaid/CHIP Coverage

Play

Wednesday, February 23, 2022   

Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program have been a lifeline for struggling families during the pandemic - and a new report suggests more than six million children in the U.S. could needlessly lose that coverage.

A "continuous-enrollment" requirement will be lifted at the end of the public-health emergency, which could be as early as April.

The federal government then gives states 12 months to re-determine people's eligibility. But Ohio's new state budget calls for that work to be completed in 90 days.

Kelly Vyzral, senior health policy associate with the Children's Defense Fund-Ohio, said the shorter timeframe could lead to families being erroneously dropped from coverage.

"There are workforce shortages that are affecting Ohio Medicaid just like they're affecting every other business in Ohio, and they've got an enormous caseload to go through," Vyzral. "And we want to make sure that every family and every child that is eligible for Medicaid is able to maintain that coverage."

The findings from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families indicate a nearly 12% increase in Ohio children enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP between February of 2020 and June 2021. That's roughly 134,000 kids at risk of losing coverage.

More than half of all children in the U.S. are enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP. Executive Director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families Joan Alker says 37.3 million kids are currently protected by continuous coverage.

"This mass and unprecedented eligibility redetermination process holds great risk for children and their families," said Alker. "And that risk will vary depending on where they live."

Positive measures Ohio has made to cover families are noted in the report, including expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and merging the Medicaid and CHIP programs.

Vyzral said they've also eliminated other red tape.

"They offer 12-month continuous coverage for families and children," Vyzral. "They have been improving their level of passive renewal, so that families don't have to continue to submit information if Medicaid can verify that through existing data and records they have."

She said she's hopeful Ohio will take advantage of the 12-month allowable time frame for redeterminations.



Disclosure: Georgetown University Center for Children & Families contributes to our fund for reporting on Children's Issues, Health Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
The VOTES Act also ensures the Commonwealth joins the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, a multi-state consortium which aims to keep voter registration rolls up to date, encourage voter registration and prevent voter fraud. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

Voting rights advocates in Massachusetts are applauding Governor Maura Healey's budgetary backing of new policies stemming from last year's passage of…


Environment

Climate-change groups are calling attention to the environmental destruction linked to the wood pellet industry - even as California is considering a …

Social Issues

Many Nebraskans know how crucial a family caregiver is to one of their family members. Now AARP research has put a dollar value on that unpaid care - …


Going back generations, many Indigenous cultures developed strong ties with bison and relied upon them for sustenance, shelter, and cultural and religious practices. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

South Dakota is home to one of the nation's largest American Indian reservations, and the area is part of a movement among tribal nations to take …

Health and Wellness

As the cost of food, medicine and rent continues to climb, new data shows the benefits miners receive are now 40% less than what they received in 1969…

Stedman farmer Demi Tucker has been growing mushrooms on her family's land for the past few years. (Demi Tucker)

Environment

With the cost of farmland up by more than 8% percent in North Carolina, the state's Black farmers are struggling to purchase additional acreage or …

Environment

By Zachary Shepherd and Kelsey Paulus for Kent State News Lab.Broadcast version by Nadia Ramlagan reporting for the Kent State-Ohio News Connection Co…

Social Issues

Texas' GOP-dominated legislature is considering bills to flip the script on powers traditionally afforded home-rule cities, instead forcing them to …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021