Ensuring that Children with Special Health Care Needs Have Access to Needed Medicaid Services
Organization: Manatt Health Solutions
Primary Contact: Cindy Mann
Grant Amount: $50,000 for 6 months
Date Awarded:
Date Completed:
Purpose
Nearly half of children with special health care needs, including children whose health care is complicated by the presence of poverty and related stressors, receive health insurance through state Medicaid programs. In theory, all these children should be receiving appropriate, adequate and equitable services, but in practice they do not. State Medicaid programs differ in many regards including eligibility, benefits, access and quality. This project will study state Medicaid programs to identify policies and practices that give rise to variations in services. It will identify levers that states have and can use to improve how children with chronic and complex health care needs are served, and will recommend practical strategies that states can adopt.
Outcome
This project reviewed state Medicaid programs and identified policies and practices that lead to significant variation in services provided to children with special health care needs across the country. The project identified examples of best practices that states have used to improve how children with chronic and complex health care needs are served, and provided eight practical recommendations that states can adopt to ensure access to services for this vulnerable population of children. An issue brief, as well as an executive summary, of the work were developed and a corresponding webinar was conducted.