5300            DENALI KIDCARE

The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 established the Child Health Insurance Program in Title 21 of the Social Security Act.  This program provides Alaska with enhanced federal matching money to expand Medicaid eligibility to more children.  At the same time, eligibility was also expanded for pregnant women.  Beginning March 1, 1999, children under age 19 and pregnant women qualified for health care coverage if their household income was at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guideline ( FPG Federal Poverty Guidelines ) for Alaska.

On September 1, 2003, the eligibility standard for children without insurance and pregnant women was reduced from 200 percent to 175 percent of the 2003 federal poverty guideline for Alaska.  This 175 % FPG Federal Poverty Guidelines standard was frozen at the 2003 level and did not increase each year as it did historically.

Effective July 1, 2007, the eligibility standard for children without insurance and pregnant women was increased to 175 percent of the 2007 federal poverty guideline for Alaska due to a change in law.  This standard will increase each year along with the annual increases in the federal poverty guidelines.

Denali KidCare is an expansion of Medicaid, using the same basic infrastructure and benefit package.  The Denali KidCare name encompasses the Medicaid eligibility categories of pregnant woman (PR), newborn (BA Baby Medicaid), healthy child (HC), and six-up (SU), although these Medicaid subtypes continue to be used for federal financial claiming purposes.  Application intake and processing occur in the specialized Denali KidCare office.