Close Benefit Gaps

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About one third of children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) and their families experience underinsurance; they have either private or public coverage, but the benefits do not cover important health care expenditures such as durable medical equipment (DME), medical supplies, rehabilitation therapies, mental health services or dental care. For some privately insured families the co-payments for visits and deductibles for other services are exorbitant.

Some of the strategies to close these benefit gaps include:

• Medicaid Buy-in Programs;
• Mandated Benefits;
• Enhanced CHIP Benefits;
• Enhanced Title V Funding;
• Diverse Approaches to Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT);
• Maximizing Private Coverage;
• Other strategies to expand health care benefits.