New Medicaid children's expansion misses some families in need

The recent children's health coverage buy-in expansion has created the odd situation that some families with uninsured  children are both too rich and too poor.  The current expansion is open to uninsured children with family incomes above 300 percent of poverty who meet specific critera (for more details on this expansion see Ohio Health Policy Review article from April 3rd).  The existing Medicaid program covers uninsured children to 200 percent of poverty.  Families with incomes between 200 and 300 percent are left currently without an expansion program since the Bush Administration refused to approve Ohio's approval State Children's Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP) expansion to 300 percent of poverty.

This reality has revealed itself most starkly with the beginning implementation of the new expansion.  According to the Columbus Dispatch, the first eight families who applied for coverage under this expansion did not qualify because they did not earn enough money (Source: "Kids go uninsured in eligibility gap," The Columbus Dispatch, April 22, 2008).

The Strickland Administration has stated that it wants to address this situation by lowering the income eligibility for this new expansion to 250 percent of poverty, while raising eligibility for Ohio's Medicaid/SCHIP program to 250 percent of poverty.