Children's access to Medicaid dental services is a long-standing concern. Medicaid -- a joint fed. and state program that provides health care coverage, including dental care, for 30 million low-income children -- but, many children in Medicaid experience difficulty finding a dentist who would treat them. At the fed. level, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) oversees Medicaid. This report examined: (1) state strategies to monitor and improve access to dental care for children in Medicaid; and (2) CMS actions since 2007 to improve oversight of Medicaid dental services for children. The author surveyed all state Medicaid programs and interviewed state and fed. officials, and dental researchers and associations. Charts and tables.

A critical look at state-dominated health care

Schools can be appropriate locations in which to identify low-income children who are eligible for Medicaid, assist them to enroll, & provide Medicaid-covered services. This report addresses: the extent to which school districts & states claim Medicaid reimbursement for school-based health services & administrative activities; the appropriateness of methods that states use to establish bundled rates for school-based health services & to assess the costs of administrative activities that their schools may claim as reimbursable; states' retention of Federal Medicaid reimbursement for services provided by schools & schools' practice of paying contingency fees to private firms; & HCFA oversight of state practices.

Medicaid is a story worth telling, one rooted in American history and shaped by its culture and institutions. It has dramatic interest, heroes and heroines, triumphs and tragedies. The authors make this story come alive for the reader by providing a strong connected narrative, detailed accounts of important policy changes, and extensive use of interviews with individuals close to events. They emphasize politics and policy along with history. History is important because Medicaid has developed incrementally, layer by layer, so that almost any provision or activity needs a historical gloss to understand it. The Medicaid program has been especially subject to outside political and policy influences: the state of the economy, trends in federalism, developments in health or welfare programs, and the electoral cycle. Politics helps us understand policy outcomes. But the two go together: a knowledge of policy helps understand what is at stake, and a knowledge of politics what is possible. A central theme of the book is that Medicaid is a "weak entitlement," one less established or effectively defended than Medicare or Social Security, but more secure than welfare or food stamps. Medicaid has the flexibility to adapt (or be adapted) as well as a capacity to defend incremental and opportunistic gains. At the same time, the program lacks an effective mechanism for overall reform. It has grown enormously since its inception to become the largest health insurance system in the country, a source of perennial complaint and, most recently, of continuing crisis. The dual emphasis upon politics and policy is important to make the arcane Medicaid program accessible to the reader, and to distinguish policy grounded in facts and analysis from partisan bombast and ideology. The result is an authoritative account and reference for those seeking to refresh a perspective or to look further.

How much responsibility for providing health care to the poor should be devolved from the federal government to the states? Any answer to this critical policy question requires a careful assessment of the Medicaid program. Drawing on the insights of leading scholars and top state health care officials, this volume analyzes the policy and management implications of various options for Medicaid devolution. Proponents of devolution typically express confidence that states can meet the challenges it will pose for them. But, as this book shows, the degree to which states have the capacity and commitment to use enhanced discretion to sustain or improve health care for the poor remains an open question. Their failure to attend to issues of politics, implementation, and management could lead to disappointment. Chapters focus on such topics as Medicaid financing, benefits and beneficiaries, long-term care, managed care, safety net providers, and the appropriate division of labor between the federal government and the states. The contributors are Donald Boyd, Center for the Study of the States; Lawrence D. Brown, Columbia University; James R. Fossett, Rockefeller College; Richard P. Nathan, Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, State University of New York, Albany; Michael Sparer, Columbia University; James Tallon, United Hospital Fund; and Joshua M. Weiner, the Urban Institute.

A comprehensive report on the Medicaid situation in the State of Texas. Includes: Medicaid fundamentals, the big picture; what does Medicaid do?; Medicaid spending from all angles; the Texas context: father to go; new directions for Medicaid; & an extensive glossary. 40 charts & tables.

A detailed analysis of Medicaid financing of mental health & substance abuse prevention services for children. Background information is provided on eligibility, reimbursement, financing, & administration, with the primary focus on Medicaid benefit policies. The report is intended to assist primarily State, but also Federal & local substance abuse & mental health agency staff in their efforts to use Medicaid more effectively as a source of payment for services to low-income children. Includes appendix of Medicaid coverage policies & glossary. Also includes a 28-page brochure, A Consumer's Guide to Mental Health ServicesÓ (1994).

First Published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.