Coverage

Work Requirements in Medicaid Waivers: These Aren’t About Work

CMS has approved work requirements (sometimes spun as “community engagement” requirements) in three states: Arkansas, Kentucky, and Indiana. Eight additional states have similar requests pending, ...

States Making Progress on Rate Review

The Affordable Care Act encourages states to improve their processes for monitoring health insurance premium rate increases. This process is known as “rate review.” The authority each state has ov...

Treating Pain Is Not Enough: Why States’ Emergency-Only Dental Benefits Fall Short

States have great latitude to determine the scope of dental benefits that they will cover for adults through their Medicaid programs. While some states cover comprehensive benefits, others cover emerg...

Helping People with Medicare

The Affordable Care Act will make health care more affordable for seniors and people with disabilities who rely on Medicare. The law will also change how Medicare pays for health care, making the prog...

Helping People with Medicare

Medicaid Must Play a Central Role in Combating Substance Use Disorder

As the largest single source of health insurance and coverage for behavioral health services in the country, Medicaid plays a pivotal role in addressing substance use disorder (SUD). Medicaid covers n...

Medicaid Waivers: Strategies to Address Barriers to Medicaid

On June 12, Families USA held a webinar that highlighted successful tactics and strategies that could be used in states seeking work requirements. Advocates in Colorado and Minnesota discuss how they...

Strategies for Story Banking and Engaging Young Adults

State advocates face the challenge of educating the public about the Affordable Care Act and rallying support for it. Collecting and publicizing consumer stories (known as “story banking”) and eng...

Medicaid Work Requirements: Lessons from the 2018 State Legislative Sessions

When the Trump administration gave the green light to Medicaid work requirements, conservative lawmakers in state legislatures across the country grasped the chance to impose punitive restrictions on...

Presumptive Eligibility: A Step toward Streamlined Enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP

The Affordable Care Act expands states’ ability to use presumptive eligibility to streamline enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP (the Children’s Health Insurance Program). Presumptive eligibility give...