Efforts to Reduce Number of Uninsured Hampered by Lack of SCHIP Reauthorization and Economic Issues

New reports released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) describe efforts by states in the past year and a half to expand coverage to low-income children and their families, but the actions may be curtailed as a deteriorating economic climate and new limits on federal assistance take effect. A downturn in the economy, the federal failure to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and new federal rules affecting Medicaid and SCHIP eligibility all suggest that the recent period of aggressive expansion of coverage by states may be over. This is the conclusion based on a series of new studies by the KCMU, including a 50-state survey of eligibility and enrollment rules in Medicaid and SCHIP for children and families, interviews with Medicaid directors in ten states representing all regions of the country, and recent studies of enrollment in Medicaid and SCHIP.

The reports released include:

• Health Coverage for Children and Families in Medicaid and SCHIP: State Efforts Face New Hurdles,
• Current Issues in Medicaid: A Mid - FY 2008 Update Based on a Discussion with Medicaid Directors,
• SCHIP Enrollment in June 2007: An Update on Current Enrollment and SCHIP Policy Directions,
• Medicaid Enrollment in 50 States: December 2006 Data Update, and
• State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP): Reauthorization History.

The reports can be located at http://www.kff.org/medicaid/kcmu012808pkg.cfm