Greetings Healthy Kids Action Network!

Today, the Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation released two new reports, including it's annual report, Cover Michigan 2010, and another on the effects of federal health reform on Michigan's uninsured. I have included highlights below from the annual report as it relates to children's health, along with links to both reports.

On the federal-level, the Senate failed on Thursday night to pass a procedural vote on H.R. 4213, which is the legislation that includes the temporary extension of the increased FMAP--funding for Medicaid. Without this funding, Michigan's lawmakers will need to find a way to make up for the $500 million it has assumed in increased FMAP funding in the state budget, causing even deeper cuts in Medicaid and other basic services for Michigan families.

Please reach out and thank Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow for their support and leadership on this issue.

On the state-level, the House has now named the conferees to the Department of Community Health (DCH) Appropriations Subcommittee. The House members include: Representatives Gary McDowell, George Cushingberry, and Kevin Greene. The Senate members include: Senators Roger Kahn, John Pappageorge, and Deb Cherry.

These members will be meeting to work out differences between the House- and Senate-passed DCH budgets to find a compromise bill. Please contact conferees to ensure that kids are a priority in the budget.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Best,

Alicia S. Guevara
Policy & Outreach Associate

The Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation released two new reports on June 21, 2010, including its annual report on health care coverage for people in Michigan, Cover Michigan 2010, and another regarding the effects of federal health reform on Michigan, Impact of Health Reform on Coverage in Michigan.

Some highlights from the annual report regarding children's health include:

• Although Michigan's rate of uninsured kids remains low (4.7 percent), the state dropped from best in the nation to sixth.
• Children ages 0 to 5 years represented 3.5 percent of the uninsured in Michigan while children ages 6 to 17 years represented 7.4 percent of the uninsured in the state.
• Disparities continue to exist amongst the uninsured: Those who were low-income, had less educational attainment, and/or were African American or Latino were more likely to be uninsured.
• As state funded outreach for MIChild (CHIP) has decreased, the number of children enrolled in MIChild has stagnated. The nation-wide average for CHIP enrollment has steadily increased. It is estimated that approximately 10,000 children are eligible for MIChild but not enrolled.
• The number of children enrolled in public insurance increased significantly from 29.9 percent in 2006 to 33.5 percent in 2008.
• Children ages 0 to 5 years represented 9 percent of the publicly insured in Michigan while children ages 6 to 17 years represented 17 percent of the publicly insured in the state.
• Children ages 6 to 17 experienced a significant drop in the number of kids covered by private insurance from 77.8 to 73.8 over 2006 to 2008. Employer-based coverage also continues to drop.
• Family premiums are lower than the national average, however, deductibles and co-payments are increasing faster than the national average.
• With nearly 50 school-based health centers (SBHC) for every 10,000 school-aged children, Michigan ranked 18th highest in the country.
• With 29 federally qualified health centers (FQHC) and 184 delivery sites for every 10,000 uninsured, Michigan ranked 31st in the country.

Click here to view and download the Cover Michigan 2010 report and press release.

Click here to view and download the Impact of Health Reform on Coverage in Michigan report.