There has been considerable debate about children’s health coverage at the national level. The debate has been stimulated in large part by legislation to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Many states have initiated programs to reduce the numbers of uninsured children. Recently, some states have set a goal of universal coverage for children. Given the significance of this health policy issue, the Center for Mississippi Health Policy has researched the status of health coverage for children in … Read more...
Author Archives: frank
Mississippi Initiatives to Address Childhood Obesity
Issue
Children in Mississippi suffer from an alarming rate of overweight that continues to rise. Overweight children miss significantly more school days and perform less well academically than normal weight children. Risk factors for heart disease (such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure) and type 2 diabetes occur more frequently in overweight children and adolescents. In the past ten years there has been a dramatic increase in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in adolescents. In addition to the … Read more...
Mississippi Revitalizes the State Trauma Care System
Unintentional injury is the leading cause of mortality both nationally and for Mississippians aged less than 45 years. Mississippi ranks third in the nation for unintentional injury deaths. Research shows formal trauma systems reduce traumatic injury mortality. Formal trauma systems are also important first lines of defense for reducing deaths caused by natural disasters, terrorism events, and pandemics. States have actively implemented policies to strengthen formal trauma systems over the past 30 years. Mississippi began developing a formal trauma … Read more...
School Based Administrative Claiming
In 1997, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance materials to local education agencies (LEA’s) to provide technical assistance in implementing school health services and seeking Medicaid reimbursement for covered services. The Technical Assistance Guide outlined the services for which schools could bill Medicaid. These services included direct medical care as well as administrative services such as the following:
- Medicaid eligibility determinations;
- Medicaid outreach;
- Activities to inform or persuade beneficiaries to enter into care through the Medicaid
Mississippians Support Actions to Address Childhood Obesity
Results of the USM Public Perception of Childhood Obesity Survey
About 95 percent of adult Mississippians think that childhood obesity is a serious problem in Mississippi, according to a recent survey conducted by researchers at the College of Health at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM). In addition, Mississippi adults show stronger support for public policies to address the problem than adults nationwide. For example, Mississippians were more favorable to the following:
- To the government playing a significant role in