In January 2015, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators and Representatives introduced the Advancing Care for Exceptional Kids Act of 2015 (ACE Kids Act), S. 298 and H.R. 546. If passed the Act will improve Medicaid care for the children with complex medical conditions. The legistation currently has 136 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives and 19 co-sponsors in the Senate. The bill has been referred to committees in both the House and Senate, but it has not progressed further. To move the legistlation forward for a vote, I encourage you to contact your Congressional Representative and the Texas Senators to express your support for this bill.
health insurance
Increasing Enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP
Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are the two largest public health insurance programs for working and low-income children families in the United States. With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), both of these programs have seen an increase in enrollment across the country during the past year even in states, such as Texas, that have decided not to expand Medicaid eligibility to poor adults. As of May 2014, Texas had 80,435 new enrollees in Medicaid– a 1.8% increase over pre-ACA figures. However, roughly 874,000 Texans eligible for Medicaid and CHIP have still not enrolled, including over 700,000 children. (more…)
Health Needs for Children in Foster Care
Foster care children often have difficulties finding a consistent medical home. The children see different health professionals when their placement changes, which can be frequent. Health care providers then face difficulties to provide effective treatment with lack of follow up or inadequate knowledge of the child’s past course. (more…)
A World Without CHIP
In her post on Feb 10, Dr Shae Anderson reminded us that federal funding for CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) will soon expire in September 2015. In order to voice its continued support of CHIP and to call for providers to advocate to their legislators, the AAP recently released a revised policy statement on the program in March. (more…)
More Children with Insurance and No Medical Care
On March 31, 2014, Dr. Katie Collins commented on insurance company restrictions as to where patients can receive covered care. The post highlighted that having insurance does not guarantee that a family can see their preferred medical providers. As we continue to educate families on network restrictions, we must also address another population that has insurance but restricted access to healthcare: the child enrolled in Medicaid. (more…)
Pediatric Advocacy 