Performing Under Pressure – new Kaiser report on state Medicaid programs

The title of the Kaiser report says it all –  despite a fiscal continuum that ran from gloomy to dire, more than half of the 50 state governments exerted themselves to expand and/or streamline their Medicaid programs.  Based on the results of an annual survey, conducted in cooperation with the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families and now in its 11th year, the 92-page report presents findings in three major categories:

• Eligibility
• Enrollment and Renewal Procedures
• Cost-Sharing Requirements

The narrative is supported by 26 tables, including state-by-state analyses of:

• Income eligibility for children and adults
• Length of time a child is required to be uninsured prior to enrollment in CHIP
• Income eligibility limits and other features of health coverage for pregnant women
• Streamlined application requirements
• Streamlined enrollment processes
• Use of online application forms

Source: Heberlin, Martha, and others.  Performing Under Pressure: Annual Findings of a 50-State Survey of Eligibility, Enrollment, Renewal, and Cost-Sharing Policies in Medicaid and CHIP, 2011-2012.  Washington, DC: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, January 2012.  http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/8272.pdf