Filling the need for trusted information on national health issues
This page tracks recent state actions to extend Medicaid postpartum coverage, including approved and pending 1115 waivers, legislation that will require the state to seek federal approval through a SPA or 1115 waiver, submitted and approved SPAs, and coverage financed solely with state funds.
This data note looks at national and state-by-state Medicaid and CHIP enrollment data through January 2021, as states were still in the early stages of experiencing the health and economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. After declines in enrollment from 2017 through 2019, preliminary data show that total enrollment grew to 80.5 million in January 2021, an increase of 9.3 million from actual enrollment in February 2020 (13.1%), right before the pandemic and when enrollment began to steadily increase.
Recognizing that ongoing vaccination efforts are crucial to ending the pandemic, CMS issued an Interim Final Rule with Comment Period (IFC) that establishes new vaccine reporting and/or education requirements for nursing homes and ICF/IDDs as of May 21st, 2021. Public comments are due July 12, 2021, after which CMS may revise the rule.
In response to COVID-19, all 50 states + DC are using emergency waivers and other authorities to make changes to their Medicaid programs. Check out details of these Medicaid emergency authorities on our tracker.
This issue brief highlights key differences between Medicare and Medicaid and raises questions about how a policy to lower the age of Medicare eligibility could affect individuals who are currently enrolled in Medicaid.
Prescription drug spending in Medicaid and other health programs has returned to the national policy debate. This analysis examines Medicaid outpatient prescription drug utilization and spending before rebates over the 2015 to 2019 period, which is helpful for understanding recent cost drivers and areas for targeted policy action.
This Medicaid waiver tracker page aggregates tracking information on pending and approved Section 1115 Medicaid waivers. It includes resources such as an overview map and figure, detailed waiver topic tables, and explanatory briefs.
This page displays an interactive map of the current status of state decisions on the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion. Additional Medicaid expansion resources are listed (with links) below the map.
This issue brief describes key characteristics of SSI enrollees, explains the SSI eligibility criteria and eligibility determination process, and considers the implications of changes in the SSI program for Medicaid, including the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic downturn as well as proposals supported by President Biden that Congress might consider.
The American Rescue Plan includes a provision to increase the federal matching rate (FMAP) for spending on Medicaid HCBS by 10 percentage points from April 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022 provided states maintain state spending levels as of April 1, 2021. This brief discusses the proposal and provides state by state estimates of the potential effects of the policy change. It was updated on May 28 to include key points from the new CMS guidance about how states can access the funds and examples of how funds can be used.
