HCFA approves batch of new state CHIP programs
In a flurry of activity, the Health Care Financing Administration has approved five state children's insurance programs since late March.
The latest states to win approval are New York, Michigan, Ohio, California, and Illinois. Since Jan. 30, HCFA also has approved plans for Alabama, Colorado, South Carolina and Florida.
The California program proposes to provide coverage to 100,000 additional children within one year and 500,000 within three years through a combination of new subsidized children's coverage and a Medicaid expansion. Approved March 24, it is by far the largest to win federal approval so far. The federal government will contribute $315 million to the state's new $485 million-a-year Healthy Families Program, which will provide coverage for children age 1-19 with family incomes at 100-200% of the federal poverty level (FPL). Benefits will provided by licensed health plans including HMOs and PPOs.
California also plans to expand its Medi-Cal enrollment by 33,000 children in the current fiscal year and expand its Access for Infants and Mothers (AIM) program to include infants up to age 1 in families with incomes between 200-250% of FPL. The State was eligible to receive as much as $855 million in new funds for fiscal 1998.
New York, which received approval for its program April 1, plans to insure as many as 360,000 additional children within the next three years through its CHPlus program, a partnership between the state and private insurers, with the state subsidizing private coverage for enrollees. The state is eligible to receive up o $256 million in fiscal 1998 to expand the program, which currently provides insurance to 170,000 children up to age 19 in families with incomes at or below 185% of FPL. Under the expansion, the eligibility ceiling has been raised to 222% of FPL.
Under the Illinois program, which also won approval April 1, the state plans to expand Medicaid to cover as many as 40,000 additional children within the next three years. The state, which is eligible to receive $123 million in new funds for fiscal 1998, is establishing a single eligibility level of 133% of FPL for all children through age 18. Previously, eligibility varied based on the age of the child.
Ohio, which received HCFA approval March 23, plans to expand Medicaid coverage to as many as 133,000 uninsured children by 1999. The expansion of its Medicaid Healthy Start program will provide coverage to children up to age 19 from families with incomes at or below 150% of FPL. Like Illinois, eligibility in Ohio previously varied based on the age of the child. Ohio is eligible to receive nearly $116 million in new funds for fiscal 1998.
Michigan, which received HCFA approval April 7, plans to use its funds to insure as many as 120,000 new children by the end of fiscal year 2000 through its non-Medicaid MIChild program available to children under 19 in families with incomes at or below 200% of FPL. Some co-payments will apply for children in families between 151-200% of FPL. Michigan, which is eligible to receive as much as $92 million this year in new funds, plans to use its pooled purchasing power to obtain competitive contracts with private insurers and health plans.
Other states previously winning HCFA approval include Florida (March 5), South Carolina (Feb. 18), Colorado (Feb. 18), and Alabama (Jan. 30).
For more information about the state plans, check the HCFA web site at www.hcfa.gov/news and the National Association of Medicaid Directors web site at medicaid.apwa.org
In a flurry of activity, the Health Care Financing Administration has approved five state children's insurance programs since late March.
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