New Medicaid/CHIP Report Finds Program Eligibility Maintained Despite Economic Downturn

Despite difficult economic times, forty-nine states maintained or invested in expansions or improvements in their eligibility and enrollment policies for their Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) in 2010. That’s the headline coming ou

Moment of Silence

As we all know, there was a terrible tragedy this weekend in Arizona. The loss of so many lives is unthinkable, and all of us at Community Catalyst have the victims and their families in our thoughts. We encourage everyone to observe the moment of silen

New Year, New CHIPRA Performance Bonuses

The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day was not a quiet one in the world of children’s health. On December 27, 2010, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced that she had awarded 15 states 2010 Children’s Health Insurance P

Choose Your Own Adventure: Possible Paths for ACA Legal Challenges

Please note this post was updated 1/5/2011 In the midst of all of the legal challenges to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), there may be a lack of clarity for the average person regarding how these lawsuits proceed. We thought that we would take a brief mome

Field alerts that go further: lessons from Cidra

We were glad to see drug safety in the spotlight on Sunday’s 60 Minutes segment on the GlaxoSmithKline quality problems at Cidra, its now-closed flagship plant in Puerto Rico. Cheryl Eckard, the former GSK quality assurance manager and whistleblower at th

Let's Have an "Adult Conversation" about Opting Out of Medicaid

This blog was originally posted here on the Center for Children and Families Say Ahhh! blog Just last August, Texas advocates chuckled and sighed along with our Arizona colleagues when the Onion ran the headline, "Texas Vows to Reclaim Title of Most Regre

Nurses’ ties to industry under the radar, and the effect of sunshine

While physicians may be more wary of marketing relationships with industry, a new national survey of nurse practitioners shows that the group, who outnumber family docs, still has extensive ties with the industry and holds favorable views toward marketing

House brings comprehensive drug safety bill, Senators pledge support

On Friday, four House members introduced important drug safety legislation aimed to better protect the drug supply through tightened import rules, inspection, tracking, and FDA resources. The Drug Safety Enhancement Act builds off the FDA Globalization Ac

Health Homes: Creating a Stronger Medicaid Program While Reducing Costs

Arizona’s decision to eliminate coverage for some heart, liver, lung, pancreas and bone marrow transplants has received a lot of attention because of its immediate life-and-death implications: potentially denying organs to 100 adults currently on the tran