Healthaffairs.org - The termination of Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) coverage due to short-term income changes or frequent reapplication requirements increases overall health care costs and negatively affects quality of care and quality measurement and improvement efforts. This may have a significant yet commonly overlooked impact on income-related health care disparities. By requiring at least twelve months of continuous coverage, we could prevent avoidable complications, reduce administrative burden, improve quality measurement and improvements efforts, and ultimately, reduce costs.