Several states have invested in 1915(c) Home and Community Based Service (HCBS) Medicaid policies to improve outcomes and reduce costs for children and youth with significant behavioral health needs, or Severe Emotional Disturbance (SED). However, little is known about these programs and the children they serve. Through a retrospective…

Over 700,000 children throughout the U.S. have received insurance coverage through welcome mat effects of Medicaid expansion, including children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Utilizing health workforce data from the Health Resources and Services Administration, we examined workforce growth (2008-2017) among three types of health providers…

Medicaid is a major insurer of autistic people. However, during the transition to adulthood, autistic individuals are more likely than people with intellectual disability to lose their Medicaid benefits. Individuals with intellectual disability may have greater success maintaining Medicaid coverage during this time because most states provide…

Communities may often lack the resources to deliver intensive programs to assist teen mothers, and many eligible adolescents may decline participation in lengthy interventions. Therefore, alternative approaches involving less resource and time may be needed. Behavioral economics (BE) can inform the development of such novel interventions. BE often…

This report presents results of a 50-state policy survey conducted by the National Center for Children in Poverty, Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy Center for Children and Families, and Johnson Policy Consulting. The survey asked state Medicaid agency leaders about Medicaid policies related to screenings and services designed…

For this brief, the authors analyzed a cohort of children referred to Baltimore's Infants and Toddlers program (BITP), for kindergarten readiness. Usually, pediatricians, parents, or early education staff refer a child to BITP upon observing a delay in development or speech and language skills. Thereafter, BITP staff assesses the child to…

Multi-informant reports of student emotional and behavioral problems determine eligibility for school-based services; however, multiple informants often yield inconsistent reports of child concerns. Informant discrepancies are thought to reflect either measurement error or meaningful differences (e.g., situational variation). It is important to…

Background: The U.S. uninsured rate has dropped significantly since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), yet insurance coverage remains lower in historically marginalized communities than in the overall population. New consumer engagement approaches that involve these populations are needed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the…

This research aims to describe the characteristics of 1915(c) Home- and Community-Based Services waivers for children with autism spectrum disorder across states and over time. While increasingly popular, little is known about these Medicaid waivers. Understanding the characteristics of these programs is important to clinicians and policymakers in…

The advent of healthcare reform in the U.S. presents an unprecedented challenge to academic institutions that are striving to prepare a workforce to interact with individuals needing care in a variety of new practice settings. Patient-centered care is a core objective of these evolving settings which enhance access to a variety professionals and…

Objective: Many states have implemented regulations (commonly referred to as waivers) to increase access to publicly insured services for autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In recent years, several states have passed legislation requiring improved coverage for ASD services by private insurers. This study examines the impact of such legislation on…

Medicare began reimbursing for outpatient diabetes self-management training (DSMT) in 2000; however, little is known about program utilization. Individuals diagnosed with diabetes in 2010 were identified from a 20% random selection of the Medicare fee-for-service population (N = 110,064). Medicare administrative and claims files were used to…

Purpose: Little is known about mental health disorders (MHDs) and their associated health care expenditures for the dual eligible elders across long-term care (LTC) settings. We estimated the 12-month diagnosed prevalence of MHDs among dual eligible older adults in LTC and non-LTC settings and calculated the average incremental effect of MHDs on…

The federal government devotes roughly one-sixth of its spending to 10 major means-tested programs and tax credits, which provide cash payments or assistance in obtaining health care, food, housing, or education to people with relatively low income or few assets. Those programs and credits consist of the following: (1) Medicaid; (2) the low-income…

Our study explored the eligibility and willingness of students to participate in a university-wide catch-up Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination program. A total of 1804 electronic surveys (82% response) assessing demographics, HPV knowledge, eligibility, and willingness were gathered. HPV knowledge was moderate, with just over a quarter (26%)…