Express Lane Eligibility: Early State Experiences and Lessons for Health Reform

How can your state improve its enrollment processes for Medicaid and CHIP? The Express Lane Eligibility provisions in the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) give states new tools to streamline and simplify children’s enrollment. Express Lane Eligibility may also reduce the administrative burden and costs of enrollment.

This issue brief reviews states’ early experiences and explores how they can be instructive as states improve their enrollment and retention practices as a part of health reform implementation. States can draw lessons directly from the early experiences of Alabama, Iowa, Louisiana, and New Jersey.