Federal compromise on opioid legislation includes Medicaid coverage for former foster youth

Former foster youth would have better access health services under legislation being considered this fall in Congress. This week leaders in Washington, D.C., announced that they had reached a final compromise on proposed legislation to curb opioid use that would. The bill, known as H.R. 6, will require a final vote in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S Senate in the coming weeks.

While we are still reviewing the full 660-page bill, we are pleased to see that a provision supported by the All Kids Covered coalition to extend Medicaid coverage for youth who age out of the foster care system is included in the final bill (see letter below). The change will go into effect in 2023, and the Department of Health and Human Services will issue guidance to states on best practices for removing barriers and ensuring streamlined, timely access to Medicaid coverage for former foster youth and raising awareness among these youth.

Current law requires that children be able to stay on their parents’ health insurance plan until they turn 26, but requires states to provide ongoing Medicaid coverage only for children who age of foster care in the state in which they reside. Medicaid coverage is comprehensive and affordable and children in foster care are more likely to have chronic and behavioral health conditions than their peers.

Supporting stable Medicaid coverage for this group of young adults, regardless of the state in which they live, will remove a significant barrier to the health and well-being of children from the most sensitive circumstances, allowing them to reach their full potential, and ensuring funding to our health care providers. This change helps to level the playing field between children with parents and those who age out of the foster care system. It will remove barriers to health for thousands of young adults in Colorado.

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About Erin Miller

As the Vice President of Child Health Initiatives, Erin leads the health policy work of the Colorado Children’s Campaign. She has led successful policy initiatives to expand access to health insurance coverage for Coloradans without proper documentation, strengthen the state’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee, improve access to school lunches, expand access to family planning services and oral health care, and improve pregnancy-related behavioral health. Her professional experiences include service as a WIC Educator and Local Area Retail Coordinator, a Special Assistant in the HHS Office of Planning and Evaluation, a Health Policy Adviser and Budget Analyst for the U.S. House Budget Committee and working with stakeholders in the Colorado Medicaid Program. Erin graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder and earned a Master’s in Public Health from Columbia University.