A federal advisory panel next week will examine the healthcare challenges low-income children and their families will face if Congress does not renew funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program this year.
In a scheduled two-day meeting Thursday and Friday in Washington, members of the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission will discuss the findings of a report it compiled on the adequacy of health plans' pediatric provider networks and cost barriers in accessing care.
Last month, MACPAC staff previewed key takeaways of the report, which is based on a December roundtable including state insurance commissioners, insurers, CMS officials, healthcare providers, beneficiary advocates, and researchers. Veronica Daher, a senior MACPAC analyst, said there were concerns expressed about network adequacy but that the most pressing issues involved higher cost-sharing and reduced benefits if CHIP beneficiaries have to move to commercial health plans sold through insurance exchanges. “A common refrain was that if kids are priced out of the (qualified health plan) market or if the needed benefit is not covered, the network would be irrelevant to the child,” she said.
There are an estimated 10.2 million children now enrolled in the program. Of those, as many as 2 million may suffer loss of coverage or reduced healthcare access if the program ends, researchers say.
Participants expressed support for requiring exchange plans to allow children receiving treatment from particular specialists to continue with those providers.
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