MEDICAID A PRIMER Key Information on the Nation’s Health Coverage Program for Low-Income People, March 2013 - Report

MEDICAID A PRIMER Key Information on the Nation’s Health Coverage Program for Low-Income People, March 2013 - Report Medicaid a PriMer 2013 The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured provides information and analysis on health care coverage and access for the low-income population, with a special focus on Medicaid’s role and coverage of the uninsured. [...] The CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) established a program of grants to states for outreach and enrollment of children in Medicaid and CHIP, and federal performance bonuses for states that simplified enrollment and renewal for children and increased their enrollment and retention. [...] Given high rates of disability and chronic disease in the Medicaid population and the public dollars at stake, both the opportunities and the incentives to improve care and accountability in Medicaid are great. [...] Federal law and regulations contain extensive state and MCO requirements to ensure access to care in Medicaid managed care, but the evidence on how access in Medicaid managed care and fee-for-service compares is mixed and suggests that the details of states’ managed care programs matter.39 Managed care has the potential to structure a provider network and coordinated delivery system for Medicaid b. [...] The additional federal support under ARRA in the period of deepest recession proved a critical source of state revenue and resulted in the first decline in state Medicaid spending in the program’s history.67 How does the ACA affect Medicaid financing? The ACA provides almost full federal funding for the costs of adults newly eligible for Medicaid under the expansion.