Thursday, April 22, 2004

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."  
  

Mental health funds shouldn't go to HMOs (Florida)
A letter to the St. Petersburg Times from Tom Riggs, the president and CEO of Directions for Mental Health in Clearwater - "Having dedicated my 30-year human services career to community mental health, I am appalled that Florida's leadership would seriously consider handing $130-million of taxpayer money that supports these mental health services in nonprofit organizations such as mine to Medicaid HMOs. Not only are crucial issues lost or misrepresented in the debate, but the decision has notably lacked objective study by the arms of government that are ostensibly charged with oversight of this system, a system that ranks among the lowest-funded in the nation. This is a 'safety net' system of care for many thousands of poor or disabled Floridians..."