CKF NEWS & VIEWS
Covering Kids & Families of Indiana Newsletter   
May 25, 2023
POLICY UPDATE
Medicaid for DACA Recipients

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, aka DACA, is a program that allows undocumented young people who were brought to the U.S. as children and currently meet certain requirements to stay in the U.S. and receive authorization for work. You can read the basics here.

At the end of April 2023, the Biden Administration proposed a rule that would consider DACA recipients "lawfully present" for purposes of the ACA. This means that "those who meet other eligibility requirements would be eligible for ACA coverage, including Marketplace plans and subsidies and Basic Health Plans, and Medicaid and CHIP, if they are pregnant or under age 21 and in a state that has taken up the option to cover lawfully-residing pregnant women and children." (KFF report) Indiana DID expand access to lawfully residing pregnant women and children in HEA 1091. The State must submit a state plan amendment (SPA) to CMS for approval before the new rule goes into effect.

Comments on the Federal proposed rule are due June 23, 2023. The final rule would go into effect on November 1, 2023, right in time for open enrollment.
Debt Ceiling Talks and Medicaid Work Requirements

Medicaid work requirements are in the news again as the Biden Administration and GOP leadership negotiate raising the debt ceiling. Groups like Georgetown Center for Children and Families (CCF) and Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) are warning about the dangers this idea poses to families' health coverage. Georgetown CCF writes about how low-income parents are at risk even if there are exceptions to the work requirements. Meanwhile, KFF reminds readers about how Medicaid work requirements rates have historically played out. (Spoiler: people lost coverage and employment did not increase.) While this issue may disappear for a while when the debt ceiling crisis is over, it will likely arise again next time there are budget discussions. Covering Kids & Families will be watching closely and monitoring for any changes or additional proposals through the lens of staying true to the mission to “facilitate and advocate for accessible and equitable health for all Hoosiers with primary focus on healthcare coverage and children’s development.”
NEWS FROM THE INDIANA SCHOOL HEALTH NETWORK
REGISTRATION IS OPEN!
 
This year’s conference School Health: Connecting the Pieces gives you the opportunity to connect with individuals, organizations, schools, and communities with whom you work.
 
Visit great exhibits and get the latest news and updates from school health professionals. Network with your peers and win prizes! Dynamic speakers, subject matter experts, exhibitors and networking opportunities will provide you with valuable information, resources, and inspiration to move your initiatives forward.
 
Since 2008, the Indiana School Health Network has assembled key stakeholders and experts in school health for the annual School Health Conference.  Each year, professionals from a wide variety of disciplines attend the conference including but not limited to:

  • Educators and School Administrators
  • Healthcare Professionals
  • School Health Professionals
  • Social Workers
  • Outreach & Enrollment Specialists
  • Managed Care Professionals
  • Child Health Advocates
  • Government Program Partners
 
The Indiana School Health Network has been approved for 10 hours of continuing education (CE) hours for social work (LBSW, LSW, LCSW, LMFT, LMHC, LAC, LCAC) to the Indiana University School of Social Work. 
 
This activity has been submitted to the Ohio Nurses Association for approval to award contact hours. The Ohio Nurses Association is an Ohio Board of Nursing approver of nursing continuing education. (OBN-001-91).
 
Sponsored by the Indiana School Health Network/Covering Kids & Families of Indiana, a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES) to receive up to 10 total Category I contact education contact hours. No advanced-level CECH or Continuing Competency CECH have been approved. Provider ID# 117217; Program ID # 37371
 
A certificate of attendance will also be available.

Masks are recommended for all conference attendees and guests of ISHN while inside the building and when it is not possible to be socially distanced. Any registered attendee who cannot make the conference due to feeling unwell or for any other reason can request their registration be applied to the June 2024 conference.
Connect with ISHN
OUTREACH & ENROLLMENT
FSSA Updates
The Family & Social Services Administration (FSSA) recently updated the special “return to normal” website. Updates include:
  • Information about and examples of the text messages FSSA is sending to Medicaid members to alert members that they need to take action
  • Information on the next stakeholder meeting on June 6th
  • Recording and slides from the April stakeholder meeting
  • Link to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) flier about Medicare in English and Spanish
  •  Information on FSSA’s April report to CMS
  • Updated FAQs (May 15, 2023)
Premium Payments
Recently, representatives from the Family & Social Services Administration verbally stated on two separate occasions that POWER Account payments, and premiums for Hoosier Healthwise Package C (CHIP) and Med Works will begin no earlier than January 2024.
Marketplace SEPs
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have an updated consumer focused four page bulletin explaining Marketplace special enrollment periods (SEPs). A substantial list of situations that would qualify someone for an SEP is included.
Coverage to Care
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) updated their Coverage to Care (C2C) resources to reflect the current environment. English and Spanish are available and other languages are coming soon.
Unwinding Data
Earlier this month, Indiana made its first report to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the Medicaid Unwinding. As of April, over 65,000 Hoosiers renewed their coverage, over 6,000 were determined ineligible and almost 46,900 were disenrolled for procedural reasons. These disenrollments started May 1st.

You can find an explanation on how to read the monthly unwinding reports here.
Enrollment Trends

Total Membership increased 
again in April. With 2,230,620 members, there were 11,025, or 0.50%, more members in April 2023 than in March 2023.
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