Hilltop -- Overcoming Interagency Data‐Sharing Barriers:  Lessons from the Maryland Kids First Act

This issue brief provides an overview of strategies used to identify uninsured children who are eligible for public insurance programs. Like Maryland’s 2010 Kids First legislation, the ACA includes provisions designed to streamline states’ Medicaid/CHIP eligibility
determination and enrollment procedures by making federal tax return information available for use in state Medicaid/CHIP outreach.  The overview is followed by an update on Maryland’s tax-based outreach program, including a description of the interagency data-sharing barriers encountered and their resolutions. The brief concludes with a discussion of new data-sharing and outreach opportunities outlined in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and lessons for other states.