Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Arizona's Proposal To Restart Children's Health Program Wins Federal Approval
The Washington Post: Arizona Becomes The Last State To Provide Health Insurance To Low-Income Children
Arizona is rejoining a children's health insurance program for low and middle-income families, becoming the last state in the union to provide coverage for health care, dental care, speech therapy and other services to families who don't qualify for Medicaid. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Monday that it had approved Arizona's plan to unfreeze enrollment in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), effective Tuesday. The insurance program, funded jointly by the state and federal governments, covers children up to age 18 whose families earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but don't have their own health insurance. (Bernstein, 7/25)
Kansas Health Institute: State Gives No Advance Medicaid Payments To Nursing Homes
The state has not made any advance payments under a program that promised financial help for nursing homes while they wait for residents’ Medicaid applications to process. Nursing homes were told in March that they could apply for half-payments for their Medicaid-pending residents until the state resolves a backlog of thousands of applications. But the state instead has used requests for advance payments to prioritize which Medicaid applications are moved to the front of the processing queue. (Marso, 7/25)
