Summary
The state of Washington has been a trailblazer among the states in developing innovative approaches to expand health insurance coverage, particularly for low-income families and children. The recent economic downturn and resulting shortfalls in state tax revenues have, however, created a harsh fiscal environment in which the state has begun to adopt a variety of cutbacks in Medicaid, SCHIP and Basic Health. Some of these policies will increase the number of people without health insurance and create greater stress on safety net health care providers. Washington has already implemented changes in procedures for enrolling children in Medicaid that will reduce the number of covered children by about 28,000, as estimated by state officials.
The state now plans to impose monthly premiums for low-income families whose children receive Medicaid benefits and to increase monthly premiums for those who receive SCHIP benefits, beginning February 2004, provided that the federal government approves a special waiver.
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The higher premiums would cause about 24,000 low-income Washington children in working families to lose Medicaid or SCHIP coverage.
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A state survey shows there are about 40,000 low-income uninsured children in Washington. The new premiums alone could raise the number of low-income uninsured children in Washington by more than one-half.
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Combined with the procedural changes already implemented, the new policies could more than double the number of low-income uninsured children.
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