As you may have heard by now Congress performed a rare but important bi-partisan feat earlier this week and passed legislation that changes the way that doctors are paid by Medicare.

As you may have heard by now Congress performed a rare but important bi-partisan feat earlier this week and passed legislation that changes the way that doctors are paid by Medicare.

The bill has already been signed into law by President Obama.  The H.R.2 – Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act also extends the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) from October 1, 2015 through September 30, 2017.

This is a big win for children in Connecticut’s HUSKY A and B program. While many of us would have preferred that CHIP be extended through 2019, the Congressional compromise leaves intact many important features of the law.  Significantly, it means that more than 13,000 Connecticut children in HUSKY B are no longer at risk of losing coverage on October 1st of this year.  It also means that Connecticut stands to gain tens of millions of dollars of additional federal funding for children in both HUSKY A (Medicaid) and HUSKY B (CHIP).  By extending CHIP, Connecticut’s federal reimbursement will increase from 65 cents on the dollar to 88 cents on the dollar for children in families with income above 133% of the federal poverty level.  Or to put it another way, Connecticut will only be paying 12 cents on the dollar for tens of thousands of children in the HUSKY program after the federal dollars are counted.

We are also pleased that HR 2 extends the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, Transitional Medical Assistance for families on Medicaid, Family-to-Family Health Information Centers, and funding for community health centers. To find out about other important a