Letters and Correspondences
Comments on New Mexico Centennial Care 2.0
Health
First Focus on Children submitted the following comment to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to strongly support New Mexico’s proposals to provide continuous eligibility for children through age 5 and the expansion of the Centennial Home Visiting (CHV) program.
Excerpt from the Comment:
Continuous eligibility through age 5 reduces “churn” in and out of Medicaid/CHIP coverage. A child who churns from Medicaid/CHIP will experience gaps in both coverage and access to care that can be detrimental to their development; even short gaps in coverage can harm a child by reducing their access to necessary care.5 If a coverage gap is prolonged, families may face expensive medical bills or may push off their child’s care due to high out-of-pockets costs. Maintaining Medicaid/CHIP coverage through age 5 provides children with a long-term medical “home,” where care is coordinated, efficient, and consistent.6 Early childhood continuous eligibility will also ensure children have access to the same provider networks and benefits.7 Churning from Medicaid/CHIP coverage to private coverage due to income changes forces families to search for new providers and navigate new costsharing rules, burdening families and complicating a child’s access to necessary care.