Thursday, April 22, 2004

Federal Aid Strengthens Health Care Safety Net: The Strong Get Stronger
An Issue Brief from the Center for Studying Health System Change - "Two new federal initiatives-community health center expansion and Community Access Program grants-have improved access to care for low-income people and strengthened linkages among safety net providers, according to findings from the Center for Studying Health System Change's (HSC) 2002-03 site visits to 12 nationally representative communities. Grant recipients have added services to fill safety net gaps or to improve collaboration among safety net providers. However, communities with weaker safety nets were less likely to receive federal aid, and funding for both programs is limited, hampering the potential impact on the nation's system of care for low-income and uninsured people..."  
  

SCHIP Programs More Likely to Increase Children's Cost Sharing than Reduce Their Eligibility or Benefits to Control Costs
A fact sheet (in Adobe Acrobat format) from the Maternal and Child Health Policy Research Center - "The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) would seem to be a natural target for cuts as nearly all states struggle to address budget shortfalls, which in 5 states were projected in 2003 to exceed more than 20% of their general fund budgets for FY 2004.1 Yet, SCHIP continues to be a politically popular program for governors and legislators alike, both because of the coverage it provides to such a significant segment of the child population -- some 6 million children in 2003, up from 3 million in 20002 -- and because of the general federal matching funds it offers. As a result, virtually all states have protected their SCHIP programs from reductions in eligibility levels, although there are some that have moved to restrict benefits or control enrollment and many that are requiring greater financial contributions by families. At the same time, however, there are several states that have expanded their SCHIP programs through changes in eligibility, enrollment, or benefits."