December 1, 2002

Improving Coverage for Adults through Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program

Over the five years following the enactment of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), significant progress has been made extending eligibility for health care coverage in Medicaid and SCHIP to children in low-income families. States have also taken important steps to ease the enrollment process to help assure that eligible children are enrolled. Eligibility levels for children have expanded in every state, and simplified Medicaid and SCHIP enrollment procedures for children are now the norm in most states. As a result, after a decline in Medicaid enrollment following the 1996 federal welfare law, enrollment of children in Medicaid and SCHIP has been growing, and increased enrollment in public coverage programs has helped to lower the number of uninsured children. More needs to be done to assure that all eligible, low-income children have coverage, and many of the polices needed to build toward this goal are now in place.

Coverage for low-income parents and other adults does not have as strong a foundation from which to build and, as a result, much more needs to be done to reduce uninsured rates among adults. Part I of this report reviews why it is important to strengthen the system for adult coverage through public programs. Part II identifies how adults can be covered through Medicaid and SCHIP and Part III follows with a description of some of the steps that can be taken to promote participation of eligible adults and families.

Source: Southern Institute on Children and Families

Citation: Mann, Cindy. Improving Coverage for Adults through Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Columbia, SC: Covering Kids & Families National Program Office, Southern Institute on Children and Families, December 2002.

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