Greetings Healthy Kids Action Network!

As you all know, Congress left for the Fourth of July recess without passing an extension of the increased FMAP (or the unemployment benefits extension). Congress returned this week--with only a short time before the summer recess--and are expected to resume discussions about the economy.

Without this extension of increased FMAP funding, Michigan's lawmakers will need to find a way to make up for the $560 million it has assumed in the state budget for the increased FMAP, causing even deeper cuts in Medicaid and other basic services for Michigan families.

In fact, the Governor has announced that closing the gap could include:

• Cuts of up to 30% in payments to physicians and other health care providers who treat 1.8 million Medicaid beneficiaries--further limiting access to quality care;
• Additional cuts in mental health services;
• Reductions in safety net programs that provide basic living expenses to more than 82,000 low-income families;
• Further reductions in funding to local governments for critical services like police and fire protection; and,
• Deeper cuts in state funding for colleges and universities.

Michigan's Children released this statement on Monday urging Congress to act. It is critical that we keep the pressure on our members to pass the increased FMAP extension. Click here to take action and send a letter to your Representative and Senators Stabenow and Levin.

The Governor also stated that work on the State budget will likely be delayed to see if Congress will take action and pass the extension. Although, the Legislature did complete work on the School Aid budget and the Governor signed it last week. See our latest Budget Basics detailing what's included, along with the Governor's vetoes.

In this email I have also included many resources recently released around: MIChild outreach and enrollment, CMS guidance, home visitation resources, new health reform website, data on health disparities, and more. I have also provided information on the Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill and ask that you consider showing your support.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions. Thank you for your advocacy on behalf of kids in Michigan!

Best,

Alicia S. Guevara
Policy & Outreach Associate

To combat rising rates of uninsured children in Michigan, the Michigan Primary Care Association, in partnership with the Michigan Association of United Ways, launched a two-year grassroots initiative to perform outreach and enroll children across the state in HealthyKids and MIChild.

As a member of the steering committee, Michigan's Children would like to encourage you to become a partner in the project by promoting the work being done to help families enroll their children in health insurance. Click here to become a partner and to view the materials available for distribution in newsletters and websites.

Click here to view a new outreach video targeting families to enroll their children in MIChild or Healthy Kids.

Related, CMS recently issued additional guidance for CHIPRA regarding Medicaid and CHIP coverage of "lawfully residing" children and pregnant women. Click here to read the guidance letter.

Click here for previous guidance letters on CHIPRA.

The U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) recently released responses to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding the grant opportunity provided to states to support evidence-based home visiting programs (made available through the health reform law).

Click here to access the responses released by HHS.

The U.S. Health and Human Services has created a new website, HealthCare.gov, as part of federal health care reform to help people understand what the law does and how it affects different groups.

There are resources for families with children, individuals, young adults, employers, senior citizens, and people with disabilities.

Click here to visit the website. Take a video tour of HealthCare.gov!

Today, the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee began marking up its Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill, the Improving Nutrition for America's Children's Act of 2010 (H.R. 5504).

The committee is requesting additional endorsers of the bill. If your organization is interested in supporting the bill, please email Ria Ruiz, of the House Education and Labor Committee. Click here to view a current list of signatures.

Michigan's Children is among the organizations listed. There are not many from Michigan, and a long list of organizations will mean there there is a great deal of support for the bill. Please consider showing your support!

The Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health has released new state snapshot reports to demonstrate state variations and disparities in health and health system performance. The 2007 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) Child Health and System Performance Profile highlights disparities among children with special health care needs (CSHCN) and children who have public insurance.

The data snapshots include an overview of how children in your state compare to the nation on 21 key health status and system performance measures related to: chronic conditions, complexity of health service needs, health insurance, access to care, preventive care and medical home.

Some Michigan highlights include:

• Children with special health care needs are less likely to have adequate insurance to meet their health care needs;
• Children with public insurance are more likely to experience gaps or inconsistency in insurance coverage; and,
• Children with private insurance are less likely to have adequate coverage.

Click here to read more about the new report.