The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #74610

Ian Hill, The Urban Institute, 2100 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20037, 202 261-5374, ihill@ui.urban.org

This will be a report on a component of the Urban Institute's "Assessing the New Federalism" project. In this project the Urban Institute conducted telephone surveys with SCHIP and Medicaid officials in 13 states that were carefully selected to be broadly representative of states across the nation. These officials were querried regarding the budget/deficit situations their states faced during 2003, and the extent to which health programs were the target of policy changes and program cuts. Specifically,issues related to cuts in eligibility, enrollment, outreach,benefits, cost sharing, and waiting periods, among others were explored. The presentation will summarize the results of these surveys, synthesizing and analyzing trends regarding child health coverage policies and the extent to which this population has, or has not, borne the brunt of state cutbacks.

Learning Objectives:

• To clarify the nature of current or proposed cuts at state and federal levels, including the fundamental shift from Medicaid as a counter cyclical safety net program to Medicaid as a source of funding to assist states in providing some coverage to some individuals;
• · To trace the impact of cuts on particular segments of the MCH population within the context of broader program cuts and of declining economic circumstances of families;
• · To identify advocacy efforts in progress and to explore advocacy strategies available to participants at federal and state levels.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.