Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Braced For The Worst, States Plan To Freeze CHIP Enrollment, Think About Shuttering Programs
As federal lawmakers continue to bicker over how to fund the Children's Health Insurance Program moving forward, states across the country are freezing enrollment and preparing for the worst. CHIP funding lapsed Sept. 30 and has yet to be renewed by Congress, leaving states to patch together funding with monies redistributed by the CMS. But most of those dollars will run out by March at the latest, and states will have to finish processing all claims by the end of January and find a new plan to cover CHIP-enrolled children. (Luthi, 12/18)
Alabama will freeze enrollment in its children's health insurance program soon if Congress doesn't reauthorize funding for the program. The state announced Monday that it would no longer enroll children in its "ALL Kids" program for low-income children, starting on Jan. 1, because Congress has not yet reauthorized funding for the program. (Hellmann, 12/18)
Kaiser Health News: Not-So-Happy New Year: Alabama Set To Toss Kids Off Insurance Plan Starting Jan. 1
Citing Congress’ failure to restore federal funding of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Alabama plans to drop 7,000 kids from coverage on New Year’s Day, the first step to shutting down coverage for everyone, state officials said Monday. Those children, who are up for their yearly renewal in January, will not be allowed to continue in the program, and the state also plans to freeze enrollment at the same time. Then, unless Congress acts, Alabama would close CHIP for all 84,000 children on Feb. 1. (Galewitz, 12/19)
Meanwhile, community health clinics share a similar fate —
Unless Congress provides funding before the end of the year, many of the nation’s 9,800 community health clinics will face service cuts or closure — potentially crippling a vital part of the health system that provides care in poor and underserved communities across every state. And the fallout could mean the loss of more than 160,000 jobs and a hit to state economies of more than $15 billion as staff cutbacks and layoffs ripple through the country. California alone could lose up to 15,841 jobs and nearly $1.7 billion next year. (Ollove, 12/18)
