KIDDIECARE: FEDERAL OFFICIALS ASSURE STATE FUNDS
"Federal officials are reassuring states that they will beThis is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
able to take part in" the federal KiddieCare program, "even if
they cannot produce a plan by the end of next month for using
their share of the money," Washington Post reports.
In a letter to state officials this week, Sally Richardson,
Medicaid director for the Health Care Financing Administration,
said "states may qualify for the federal money retroactively if
they begin to insure extra children before they submit their
plans." The letter also promised that if states "are unable to
spend all their money in a given year, they may keep it for the
next two years." Post reports that some states, such as
California, were planning to forego a health expansion until they
had time to formulate comprehensive plans (see AHL 8/25).
OTHER AREAS OF INTEREST
By the end of next month, Richardson said the Department of
Health and Human Services will inform each state how much of the
$24 billion it will receive. The letter also "spells out certain
general rules for choosing which children to insure, forbidding
states to cover the children of government employees, for
example." Richardson said of the letter, "It is trying to begin
to address the questions, the major concerns, we are getting from
states." Post reports that "the letter does not address other
central questions," such as how the government will ensure the
money is spent on insuring previously uninsured children and not
those now covered by Medicaid or private insurance (Goldstein,
8/29).