AcademyHealth Stateside - 11/30/2006
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In this issue:
State Coverage Initiatives Winter Meeting to be Held in New Orleans
Election Round Up: Governor’s Races and Ballot Initiatives
Oregon Lays Groundwork for Universal Coverage Plan
Utah Modifies Program to Help Uninsured Workers Participate in Employer-Sponsored Health Plans
Maryland’s High Risk Insurance Pool Offers Income Subsidy Program
Profiles in Coverage: Oklahoma Employer/Employee Partnership for Insurance Coverage
New Publication on ERISA Implications for State Coverage Strategies
States Face SCHIP Federal Funding Shortfalls in Fiscal Year 2007
America’s Health Insurance Plans Announces Vision for Universal Coverage
New Issue Brief on Health Plan Benefit Design
News from AcademyHealth
Reports of Interest
America’s Health Insurance Plans Announces Vision for Universal Coverage
In November 2006, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) announced a new coverage proposal that aims to cover all children within three years and 95 percent of adults within ten years. The AHIP plan focuses on making private insurance more affordable and building upon public coverage. Elements of the plan include:
- The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) would be expanded and funded to cover all children up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL).
- The federal government would create a new Medicaid category that would cover all adults, including the currently categorically ineligible, up to 100 percent FPL.
- Tax credits of $200 per child ($500 family maximum) for families with incomes less than 300 percent FPL who purchase health insurance for their children.
- Creation of a new Universal Health Account for use in the pre-tax purchase of qualified medical expenses. The federal government would match a percentage of contributions on a sliding scale based on household income.
- Creation of performance based grants to the states to expand coverage to the uninsured ($50 billion over ten years).
The proposal would cost the federal government approximately $300 billion over ten years, but does not address the revenue sources needed to support such an expansion. The AHIP plan is available on their website.
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