Why Express Lane Eligibility Makes Sense for States and Low-Income Families

Express Lane Eligibility (ELE) is a new tool available to states to streamline enrollment and renewal of children in Medicaid and CHIP. It allows state Medicaid and CHIP agencies to utilize data and eligibility findings from other public need-based programs, such as Head Start or Food Stamps, and/or tax return data to identify, enroll and recertify children rather than requiring them to re-analyze and determine eligibility under their own rules.

This issue brief, one in a series, provides an overview of Express Lane Eligibility, presents an example of what ELE can look like in practice and highlights the potential benefits of implementing an ELE initiative.

Issue Brief (.pdf)