Publications & More

Are you looking for help with your child’s health insurance coverage?

The Catalyst Center focuses at the policy level to help create strategies that improve coverage and financing of care for children with special health care needs. We can’t offer direct benefits counseling or advocacy to individuals, but some of the organizations and resources listed on our family resources page may be able to help you.

Below is a list of our publications sorted by topic.

View list sorted by date.

State Pages (Chartbook)

Coverage and Financing Inequities

4 ways the Catalyst Center State-at-a-glance Chartbook can help make the case for financing health care for CYSHCN: Chartbook updated with new inequities indicators (June, 2014)
Journal article: Disparities in Insurance Coverage among Children with Special Health Care Needs: How Social Workers Can Promote Social and Economic Justice (May, 2014 issue of Health & Social Work)
Improving Access to Coverage for Children with Special Health Care Needs in the Face of Health Inequities: Strategies Reported by Family Leadership Organizations (February 2015)
Fact sheet: Reducing Health Insurance Inequities among Latino Families Raising Children with Special Health Care Needs (February 2015)
Fact sheet: Low-Income Children with Special Health Care Needs and the Affordable Care Act (March, 2014)
Fact sheet: Immigrant Children with Special Health Care Needs and the Affordable Care Act (March, 2014)
Fact sheet: Health Inequities and Children with Special Health Care Needs (December, 2013)
Webinar recording: Health Insurance for CYSHCN from Immigrant Families (June, 2013)

Health Care Reform

The Affordable Care Act: A Working Guide for MCH Professionals (“ACA 101”) (Jan. 2015)
Affordable Care Act Fact Sheets for Families (Dec. 2014): Fact sheets that explain ACA provisions: Concurrent Care, Habilitative Services, Health Home Programs/Coordinated Care, and Marketplace and Medicaid Coverage for Children with Disabilities
Webinar and Policy Brief: New England Children with Genetic Disorders and Health Reform: Information and Recommendations for State Policymakers (Sept. 2014)
Fact sheet: Section 2703, The Medicaid Health Home Provision of the Affordable Care Act: an Overview (June 2014)
Webinar: The Affordable Care Act and Children with Vision and Eye Health Needs (January, 2014)
Your Questions Answered: Are Families of Medicaid-enrolled Children with Disabilities Eligible for Subsidized Marketplace Coverage? (December, 2013)
AUCD Conference Presentation: The ABCs of the ACA for the AUCD Network and Health Care Reform Jeopardy (Nov. 2013)
APHA 2013 presentation: The ACA and Children with Special Health Care Needs: Opportunities and Challenges [PDF] (Nov. 2013)
Beyond the Rhetoric: What the ACA Means for My Family (June, 2013)
Webinar slides: the ACA and Genetic Conditions – Opportunities and Challenges [PDF] (June, 2013)
U.S. Supreme Court Ruling–What’s Next for CYSHCN (June 28, 2012)
Your Questions on the Essential Health Benefits Bulletin Answered (June, 2012)
Risk Adjustment and Other Financial Protections for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs in Our Evolving Health Care System (May, 2012)
Issue Brief: The Affordable Care Act and Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Other Developmental Disabilities [PDF] (May 1, 2012)
Section 9: What’s New Under the Affordable Care Act [PDF], a section in Public Insurance Programs and Children with Special Health Care Needs: A Tutorial on the Basics of Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (A publication by the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) for the Catalyst Center, Feb. 2012)
Webinar: Children and the Medicaid Health Home State Plan Option (Co-hosted by the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) and the Catalyst Center, Dec, 2011)
What’s the Deal with MOE? States want to cut Medicaid spending. Are CYSHCN at risk?[PDF] (March, 2011)
The Affordable Care Act: a side-by-side comparison of major provisions and the implications for children and youth with special health care needs [PDF] (companion piece to NASHP publication below) (February, 2011)
The Affordable Care Act and Children with Special Health Care Needs: An Analysis and Steps for State Policymakers [PDF] (A publication by the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) for the Catalyst Center) (January, 2011)
Webcast: The Affordable Care Act and Children with Special Health Care Needs (associated with the above NASHP publication) (January, 2011)
Chart: Selected Provisions in Federal and State Health Care Reform that are Important to CSHCN in Massachusetts [PDF] (October, 2010)
Presentation: National Health Care Reform: What Does it Mean to Massachusetts Children with Special Health Care Needs? [PDF] (October, 2010)
Fact Sheet: Health Care Reform: What’s in it for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs? (A joint publication of Catalyst Center and Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs) (October, 2010)
Presentation: Essential Elements of Health Care Reform for CYSHCN: Looking to the Future: Opportunities and Challenges in Health Reform for MCH [PDF] (October, 2010)
Presentation: Essential Components of Health Care Reform for CSHCN [PDF] (January, 2010)
Presentation: What do CYSHCN Require from Health Care Reform? [PDF] (October, 2009)
The Essential Components of Health Care Reform for Children with Special Health Care Needs (September, 2009)
What Do Children with Special Health Care Needs Require from Health Care Reform? (July, 2009)
Health Care Reform and Children with Special Health Care Needs: Coverage is Not Enough (July, 2009)
Health Care Reform and the Massachusetts CommonHealth Program: An Important Foundation to Build on for Children with Disabilities (July, 2009)

Care Coordination

Presentation: Care Integration for Children with Special Health Needs: Improving Outcomes and Managing Costs [PDF] (July 2012)
Webinar: Children and the Medicaid Health Home State Plan Option (Co-hosted by the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) and the Catalyst Center, Dec, 2011)
Care Coordination in a Statewide System of Care: Financing Models and Payment Strategies (October, 2010)
Designing Evaluation Studies of Care Coordination Outcomes for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (August, 2008)

Fundamentals

Family Opportunity Act (FOA) and Medicaid Buy-In Programs

Medicaid and Children with Special Health Care Needs

TEFRA and FOA Medicaid Buy-in Programs: An Educational Worksheet (Sept. 2014)
Fact Sheet: Medicaid and Children with Special Health Care Needs/Disabilities: An Overview. (October, 2013)
Fact Sheet: The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Children with Special Health Care Needs: An Overview (October, 2013)
Infographic: Medicaid & CHIP: What’s the Difference? (october, 2013)
Legislative Briefing on California Children with Special Health Care Needs (Medi-Cal, April 2013)
Your Questions About the Medicaid Expansion Provision of the Affordable Care Act Answered (October 2012)
Public Insurance Programs and Children with Special Health Care Needs: A Tutorial on the Basics of Medicaid and The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)(A publication by the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) for the Catalyst Center, Feb. 2012)
Webinar Series based on above Medicaid/CHIP tutorial (April – Sept. 2012)
Medicaid Matters for Kids Congressional Briefing: What We Told Them, on The Spark, Catalyst Center (Feb. 2012)
Webinar: Children and the Medicaid Health Home State Plan Option (Co-hosted by the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) and the Catalyst Center, Dec, 2011)
Medicaid and Children with Special Health Care Needs roundup page (July 2011)

Medical Debt and Family Financial Hardship

Paying for Additional Services

Financing Pediatric Palliative and Hospice Care Programs [PDF] (April, 2011)
Relief Funds: A Safety Net for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (August, 2007)

Youth Transition

Family Involvement/Participation in Policy and Planning

Dancing with Data: Using data to support your message (November, 2010)
Video: Bridging the gaps for families of children with special health care needs: RI Pediatric Practice Enhancement Project (October, 2010)
Celebrate 2010: A decade of progress for children and youth with special health care needs (October, 2010)

Children in Foster Care

Children’s Mental Health Services

The Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project: Combining Innovation and Collaboration to Enhance Children’s Mental Health Services in the Primary Care Setting (February, 2011)

News and Topics of Interest