VISIT STATE HEALTH COMPARE
Publication
Modified Adjusted Gross Income: Implications for Medicaid Eligibility Systems under the ACA
This ACA Note discusses the implementation of the new income definition--Modified Adjusted Gross Income or "MAGI"--that will be used to determine Medicaid income eligibility across the country in 2014 when the Affordable Care Act (ACA) takes full effect. The implementation of MAGI is complicated by the requirement that each state distinguish between two different eligibility groups that will garner different federal medical assistance percentages (FMAPs)--the "newly-eligible" expansion population and the "previously-eligible" population that would have met the state's pre-ACA income thresholds. This report discusses the complexities that this scenario will raise for state Medicaid eligibility systems and how these issues might be addressed.
Read the report here or download the PDF below.
Publication
Counting Uninsurance and Means-Tested Coverage in the American Community Survey: A Comparison to the Current Population Survey
Objective. To compare health insurance coverage estimates from the American Community Survey (ACS) to the Current Population Survey (CPS-ASEC).
Data Sources/Study Setting. The 2008 ACS and CPS-ASEC, 2009.
Study Design. We compare age-specific national rates for all coverage types and state-level rates of uninsurance and means-tested coverage. We assess differences using t-tests and p-values, which are reported at <.05, <.01, and <.001. An F-test determines whether differences significantly varied by state.
Principal Findings. Despite substantial design differences, we find only modest differences in coverage estimates between the surveys. National direct purchase and state-level means-tested coverage levels for children show the largest differences.
Conclusions. We suggest that the ACS is well poised to become a useful tool to health services researchers and policy analysts, but that further study is needed to identify sources of error and to quantify its bias.
Publication
Summary of State-level Data and Information in Reports Released by MACPAC
SHADAC compiled this summary of state-level data and information released by MACPAC in the Medicaid and CHIP Program Statistics (MACStats) section of the March and June 2011 MACPAC reports to Congress.
This serves as a quick reference tool for state analysts and policymakers. The tables identified in this document provide state-level information about Medicaid/CHIP enrollment, spending, benefit levels, and managed care status.
The MACPAC reports to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP are available at this link.
Publication
12-Month Continuous Eligibility in Medicaid: Impact on Service Utilization (Presentation)
Presentation by Shana Alex Lavarreda (UCLA Center for Health Policy Research) at the 2011 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting in Seattle, WA. Dr. Lavarreda discusses the findings from her SHARE-sponsored study evaluating the connection between 12-month continuous eligibility in Medicaid and children's access to care. The presentation concludes with a discussion of the implications of this evaluation for the implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act.
Download a PDF of the presentation slides.
Publication
An Analysis of Wisconsin's ACCESS Online Application for BadgerCare Plus
Presentation by Lindsey Leininger (Chapin Hall, University of Chicago) at the 2011 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting. Dr. Leininger provides an overview of the ACCESS portal and looks at whether ACCESS is more or less likely than other application methods to attract applicants who are ultimately determined to be eligible for public insurance. She also explores whether the use of ACCESS is associated with a greater likelihood of applying for other social programs (a phenomenon known as "spillover"), looking at both the rate of spillover itself and the rate of program eligibility among spillover applicants.
