Coverage

Help Wanted: Preparing Navigators and Other Assisters to Meet New Consumer Needs

Consumers will need help applying for and enrolling in the new health insurance options that will be available starting on October 1. States will need to set up navigator and assister programs to meet...

Explainer: Medicaid Uncompensated Care Pools

Nine states have uncompensated care pools (also known as a “low-income pool” in Florida), which help health care providers—primarily hospitals—defray the costs of care that is not paid for. Th...

Medicaid: An Essential Program for States and Their Residents

Medicaid is a health insurance program that serves low-income Americans, including children, seniors, and people with disabilities. It is jointly funded by states and the federal government. Federal M...

Medicaid: Providing Vital Health Coverage to Low-Income Adults

Medicaid serves many low-income Americans, including low-income adults. Before the Affordable Care Act, in most states, non-disabled adults who didn’t have dependent children were not eligible for M...

Health Homes in Medicaid

The Affordable Care Act offers states several ways to improve patient care using a coordinated, patient-centered approach. The Medicaid health home is one such model states can pursue with funding fro...

Medicaid Expansion Helps Working People Get Health Insurance

States that have expanded Medicaid are doing more to help working residents than states that choose not to expand Medicaid. In 2014, the first year of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act,...

The District of Columbia Health Benefits Exchange Proposal

The District of Columbia is designing and operating its own health insurance marketplace (also known as an "exchange") where residents can shop for, compare, and enroll in affordable health insurance....

Block Grants: A Bad Idea for Medicaid

Updated January 23, 2017: President Trump and his advisors have indicated that they will pursue a Medicaid block grant as part of their attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Turning Medic...

States and the Federal Government Working Together to Run Health Insurance Marketplaces

States have three choices when establishing their health insurance marketplaces (also known as exchanges): Run the marketplace on their own Have the federal government run the marketplace W...

Medicaid Managed Care Rule: Improving the Enrollment Experience

In April, the Obama administration issued sweeping new standards to guide the operation of state Medicaid managed care plans. The new rules are a big deal in part because they affect so many people: T...