Medicaid
State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
Private Health Insurance
Managed Care Arrangements
Title V and Other Public Programs
Early Childhood Development
Adolescent Health
Children with Special Health Care Needs
Children with Behavioral Health Conditions
Pediatric Subspecialty Capacity



Medicaid
For more than 20 years, the MCH Policy Research Center has engaged in research, policy analysis, and strategic guidance on the financing and delivery of Medicaid services for children. We have examined Medicaid coverage and financing of preventive care, behavioral health services, home health care services, early childhood development services, and public program services including Title V, special education, and early intervention, and have identified best practices. A cornerstone of our Medicaid work is the Medicaid Tracking Project that monitors trends in state policies pertaining to waiver use, eligibility, managed care enrollment, plan arrangements, service requirements, capitation rates, medical necessity and EPSDT provisions, quality of care requirements, and specific safeguards for children with special health care as well as program changes due to budget constraints. We provide expert analysis and advice to federal agencies in understanding changes in the Medicaid program and their impacts on children. Our clients have included the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, the Office of Technology Assessment, the Commonwealth Fund, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the National Health Policy Forum.

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State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
Since the inception of the SCHIP program, the MCH Policy Research Center has conducted analytic research and provided strategic guidance on SCHIP implementation and financing and delivery arrangements for government and foundation clients. Combining expertise in public programs, financing, and children with special health care needs, staff conduct multi-state telephone and on-site surveys of SCHIP programs, examine policy options, and prepare comprehensive analyses of program practices, including covered services, identification of children with special needs, carve outs, and access protections. Among our past and present clients are the Maternal and Child Bureau, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Center for Health Care Strategies.

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Private Health Insurance
As part of efforts to understand how children and adolescents fare in the current health system, the MCH Policy Research Center is involved in analytic research and policy analysis to assess private health insurance benefit and cost-sharing policies. Through contract analysis and employer surveys, we determine the amount and scope of coverage available for basic medical, behavioral, and specialized services needed by children and adolescents, and examine other issues, such as medical necessity and crowd-out. We also monitor the development of consumer driven health plans and tax credit legislation, and prepare comprehensive analyses of their implications for children. Our clients have included the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the William T. Grant Foundation.

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Managed Care Arrangements
The MCH Policy Research Center is actively involved in research and policy analysis and providing strategic guidance on the issue of managed care for children. Through contract analysis and original surveys, we regularly analyze how states structure their managed care programs for children enrolled in Medicaid or SCHIP in terms of provider networks, access protections, carve outs, capitation payments and risk adjustment, and quality of care requirements and how managed care impacts public program services. We have also developed tools to assist purchasers in evaluating managed care plans and identified strategies for states and plans to improve their managed care arrangements for children. The Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Center for Health Care Strategies have been among our clients.

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Title V and Other Public Programs
The MCH Policy Research Center has a long history of studying public programs, such as Title V programs for children with special health care needs, children’s mental health programs, early intervention programs, special education programs, and WIC programs. We conduct original research to examine Medicaid financing for services provided by these programs, assess the effects of Medicaid managed care on these programs, and analyze program changes resulting from state budget shortfalls. We also examine the impacts of legislative and regulatory changes. Our clients have included the National Health Policy Forum, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.

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Early Childhood Development
The MCH Policy Research Center has been involved in research and policy analysis to examine the financing and delivery of early childhood development support services, including home visiting, telephone advice lines, and parent education classes. We have examined managed care contracts and conducted multi-state surveys of Medicaid and Title V staff to determine the use of Medicaid to finance such services, learn how they are delivered, and identify best practices. Our client for this work was the Commonwealth Fund.

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Adolescent Health
For nearly 20 years, the MCH Policy Research Center has conducted rigorous research and policy analysis on adolescents’ health insurance status and access to care and investigated ways to improve the health care delivery and financing system for them. Using a combination of methods that involve on-site and telephone interviews with providers and public program staff and the analysis of of insurance contracts, staff examine the adequacy of public and private health insurance coverage and assess the major financing and service delivery problems affecting adolescents and their health care providers. Among our past and present clients are the William T. Grant Foundation, the Kaiser Family Foundation, an anonymous family foundation and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau.

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Children with Special Health Care Needs
The MCH Policy Research Center is at the forefront of research and policy analysis and development for children with special needs and serves as a national policy center on health insurance for this population. We played a lead role in constructing the Bureau’s definition of children with special health care needs and continue to work closely with the Bureau, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other groups on initiatives to improve the health care delivery and financing system for these children. Our work to assess health insurance coverage and access to care for this population involves analyzing managed care contracts and conducting telephone and on-site interviews and focus groups. We have been instrumental in formulating recommendations for identifying children with special needs, improving the pediatric provider workforce, and structuring managed care arrangements. This work has been performed for clients including the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Center for Health Care Strategies, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

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Children with Behavioral Health Conditions
As part of its work on children with special health care needs, the MCH Policy Research Center examines public and private insurance coverage and financing for children and adolescents with behavioral health needs. Our work has looked at how Medicaid can be used to pay for mental health and substance abuse treatment services, the effect of managed care on Medicaid financing for intensive mental health services, and state changes affecting children’s mental health services resulting from state budget shortfalls. Our clients have included the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the National Health Policy Forum, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

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Pediatric Provider Issues

The Maternal and Child Health Policy Research Center has been actively involved in research and planning activities on the issues of access to pediatric subspecialists and reimbursement for medical homes. We provide staff support to a federal expert work group on pediatric subspecialty capacity, convened by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, to develop strategies to improve access to pediatric subspecialty care and to strengthen the interface between primary and specialty pediatric care. Co-director Margaret McManus also provides consulting services on financing issues to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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