Posted on October 19, 2005

print  e-mail

Fact Sheet Compares Plans to Extend Medicaid to Katrina Survivors

Although the federal government has put forward two approaches that would extend Medicaid coverage to tens of thousands of people displaced from their homes by Hurricane Katrina, they differ significantly with respect to eligibility criteria and the role of federal financing in covering survivors, a new fact sheet from the Kaiser Family Foundation's Commission on Medicaid Facts shows.

A Kaiser survey conducted in September found significant health needs among Katrina evacuees, with many suffering from a chronic health condition or physical disability, as well as psychological stress and trauma. Given high poverty and low health coverage rates in the region, the Medicaid program is a critical vehicle for responding to evacuees' healthcare needs.

To address the situation, bipartisan legislation was introduced in the Senate on September 15 to extend Medicaid eligibility to hurricane survivors — including children, pregnant women, and people receiving Social Security disability benefits with incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) and other adults with incomes below 100 percent of the FPL — in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The next day, the Bush administration, through the Department of Health & Human Services, released its own waiver initiative designed to assist states (Texas was the first to apply) in providing Medicaid coverage. According to that plan, each "host" state could choose whether to apply its own eligibility standards or eligibility rules suggested by HHS. Under the HHS guidelines, coverage would be extended to children, pregnant women, parents, individuals with disabilities, individuals in need of long-term care, and Medicare beneficiaries; coverage would not be extended to childless adults at any income level, pregnant women between 185 percent and 200 percent of the FPL, or people receiving Social Security disability benefits with incomes between 100 percent and 200 percent of the poverty line.

To read or download a side-by-side comparison (6 pages, PDF) of the two plans, see: http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/7417.pdf.

“Health Coverage for Individuals Affected by Hurricane Katrina: A Comparison of Different Approaches to Extend Medicaid Coverage.” Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Report 10/10/05.

Primary Subject: Health
Secondary Subject(s): Hurricane Relief
Location(s): Alabama, Gulf Coast, Louisiana, Mississippi

FC008268.html