New Findings on Medicaid/CHIP Quality and Enrollment

Dear Partners,                                            

This alert includes findings from two recently released reports that address key quality and performance indicators for children’s health.

Annual Report on the Quality of Care for Children in Medicaid and CHIP

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released its Annual Report on the Quality of Care for Children in Medicaid and CHIP. Based on a review of previously published reports, CMS made several important conclusions about the quality of care that children with public insurance receive:

  • Children enrolled in CHIP experience improved access to preventive services. Every study reviewed with the exception of one provided evidence of better access after CHIP enrollment.
  • Access to specialty services, including dental and mental health, is still a key unmet need. Surveys measuring patient experiences show that about one fourth of parents with children enrolled in Medicaid/CHIP have difficulty in obtaining specialty care. 
  • Racial and ethnic disparities continue to exist among children covered by Medicaid and CHIP. For example, among enrolled children in Medicaid, African American and Hispanic children were less likely to have a usual source of care compared to their white peers.

Monitoring Enrollment and Retention of Children in Ohio Medicaid Programs: Duration, Churning, and Turnover

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center’s Child Policy Research Center’s (CPRC) recent report offers some key lessons for state Medicaid programs nationwide based on data from Ohio’s Medicaid program:

  • Children from the lowest-income families are the most likely to keep coverage once enrolled. A focus on enrolling these families can help increase coverage rates.
  • Targeted outreach can help maximize retention. In order to sustain retention rates, outreach and education efforts can be targeted towards groups of children who have been shown to be at greatest risk of losing coverage.

Further findings from the CPRC policy brief will be discussed during a free webinar scheduled for November 3, 2010 at 2:30 p.m. Please click here to register.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at (617) 275-2929 or arosenthal@communitycatalyst.org with any questions.

Sincerely,


Amy Rosenthal
Project Director

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