State Coverage Initiatives recently worked with Stan Dorn, senior fellow at the Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center, to host a webinar exploring the pros and cons of the Basic Health Program, a policy option under the Affordable Care Act. The Basic Health Program would allow states to provide low-income residents who are ineligible for Medicaid with coverage that may be more affordable than subsidized health plans in the exchange. For many states, this option could be implemented to yield potential General Fund savings. A well-designed state Basic Health Program could also provide more affordable and comprehensive coverage than a state exchange. In addition, a state could provide Medicaid, CHIP and Basic Health coverage through the same plans and keep families together, resulting in greater enrollment, more stable coverage, and fewer coverage gaps.
January Angeles from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) joined Mr. Dorn and discussed the Center’s new project designed to boost enrollment, retention, and access to care by developing a framework for implementing the Basic Health Program in ways that provide seamless, affordable, high-quality coverage for low-income people. With funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, CBPP will undertake the following activities to ensure strong and effective implementation of Basic Health in states that choose the option: develop recommendations for federal regulations and guidance around Basic Health implementation; develop best-practices guide for implementing Basic Health; and work with individual states that can serve as models on the actual design and execution of the program.
To listen to a recording of this webinar and/or view the additional Q&A document, please click
here.
