Methods to Expand Medicaid Enrollment

States can expand the pool of women insured by Medicaid by streamlining the enrollment process. Even if eligible, many people do not enroll, either because they do not know they are eligible or because they encounter barriers to enrollment even if their income meets the eligibility level. Therefore, it is important for states to simplify enrollment procedures. The Report Card focuses on three methods states can use to expand enrollment for certain populations. First, states can adopt a policy that makes a pregnant woman "presumptively" eligible for Medicaid once she submits preliminary income information. (1) Second, states can simplify enrollment for families by allowing parents to apply jointly with their children using a simplified mail-in application. Third, states can cover more people by eliminating the "asset test." (2) The asset test counts parents' ownership of certain assets when determining the family’s eligibility for Medicaid. Eliminating this test serves multiple purposes, including easing the application process, streamlining and reducing administrative costs and increasing the pool of eligible people.

Mail-In Application

	Strength Of Policy 2007	Change From 2004
ALABAMA
ALASKA
ARIZONA
ARKANSAS
CALIFORNIA
COLORADO
CONNECTICUT
DELAWARE
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
FLORIDA
GEORGIA
HAWAII
IDAHO
ILLINOIS
INDIANA
IOWA
KANSAS
KENTUCKY
LOUISIANA
MAINE
MARYLAND
MASSACHUSETTS
MICHIGAN
MINNESOTA
MISSISSIPPI
MISSOURI
MONTANA
NEBRASKA
NEVADA
NEW HAMPSHIRE
NEW JERSEY
NEW MEXICO
NEW YORK
NORTH CAROLINA
NORTH DAKOTA
OHIO
OKLAHOMA
OREGON
PENNSYLVANIA
RHODE ISLAND
SOUTH CAROLINA
SOUTH DAKOTA
TENNESSEE
TEXAS
UTAH
VERMONT
VIRGINIA
WASHINGTON
WEST VIRGINIA
WISCONSIN
WYOMING

Meets Policy	27
Limited Policy	0
Weak Policy	0
No/Harmful Policy	24
Better	3
Worse	1
Same	47

Does the state allow parents and children to apply for Medicaid using the same simplified mail-in application?

States receive a "meets policy" if they allow parents to enroll using the same mail-in application as their children. States receive a "no policy" if they do not have such application procedures.

Data Source: Joint Parent/Child Simplified Mail-In Application, 2006.

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, "Resuming the Path to Health Coverage for Children and Parents: A 50 State Update on Eligibility Rules, Enrollment and Renewal Procedures, and Cost-Sharing Practices in Medicaid and SCHIP in 2006," January 2007, available at http://www.kff.org/medicaid/7608a.cfm.