CHIP

CHIP COVID-19 Copays Set to Resume in October - 09/12/2024

Physicians can begin collecting copays from Children’s Health Insurance Program members for COVID-19 vaccines, testing, and treatment starting Oct. 1.

Zika Reminder: Mosquito Repellent Covered Under Medicaid - 09/06/2023

To protect against Zika, mosquito repellent prescriptions are covered through Medicaid and other state programs, including the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Texas Children Among Most at Risk of Losing Health Coverage When PHE Ends - 08/19/2022

Texas is one of six states where children enrolled in Medicaid and in the Children’s Health Insurance Program are especially at risk of losing their health insurance when the public health emergency ends.

Bolster Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment With These Grants - 04/05/2022

Organizations interested in increasing access to Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage can apply for up to $1.5 million each after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)  announced on Jan. 27 that it was committing more than $49 million in federal grants to the Biden administration’s effort to “fund organizations that can connect more eligible children, parents, and pregnant individuals to health care coverage.”

Five Simple Things You Can Do for Your Practice - 01/14/2021

The only way for you to effect "real change" is through the legislative process. Here are five simple things you can do for your practice starting today - right at your desk.

Texas Doctors: Protect Patients’ Access to Care From Budget Cuts - 06/04/2020

The Texas Medical Association (TMA) and several other health organizations are urging state leaders to protect patient access to care by taking essential health care services off the financial chopping block.

Texas Continues to Lead Nation in Uninsured Adults and Kids - 09/30/2019

As of 2018, 11.2% of Texas children younger than 19 were uninsured, up from 10.7% in 2017, according to data the Census Bureau released last week. All told, Texas has led the nation in uninsured residents over the past two years, Census data show.

Raise Taxes on Vape Products to Decrease Youth Usage - 04/09/2019

HB 4013 and HB 3364 would deposit tax revenues to the state’s general revenue fund, while HB 1144 directs tax revenues to the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Evidence shows more smokers favor tobacco taxes when they are not a general revenue raising tool – in a study of current smokers, only 25% favored increasing taxes on cigarettes, but support climbed to 60% if taxes funded health care programs.

Webinar Can Help You Clear Medicaid Telemedicine Static - 10/12/2018

Do you understand telemedicine in Texas, particularly when treating Medicaid patients? If not, you might want to register for a live, free webinar on telemedicine and telehealth services scheduled for the end of October.

Congress Votes to End Shutdown, Provide Long-Term CHIP Funding - 01/22/2018

Lawmakers approved a short-term spending package Monday that would fund the federal government through Feb. 8 and end a three-day government shutdown. The package also will extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for six years, according to several media reports.

Health Care Coverage for Low-Income Texans - 02/03/2017

Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) cover more than 4 million low-income Texans. That includes half of all children in the state and about two-thirds of people in nursing homes. As the Texas Medical Association has long cautioned, however, a Medicaid card does not equal access to health care. Extremely poor payment rates and extraordinarily high bureaucratic burdens lead most Texas physicians either to refuse to accept all new Medicaid patients or to limit the numbers they can see. TMA encourages the Texas Legislature to increase Medicaid and CHIP payments and reduce administrative hassles, and to search for creative new ways to provide more health insurance coverage for low-income Texans.