This is a time of uncertainty and anxiety. Like individuals and institutions around the globe, the National Health Law Program is monitoring the coronavirus pandemic. As an organization dedicated to protecting and expanding access to health rights for low-income and underserved individuals, we are acutely aware that the coronavirus will most severely impact the populations we serve.
While we are taking steps to make sure our staff stays healthy, we will continue to fight for policies that prioritize health care access for low-income and underserved individuals and families. Below you will find an assortment of resources related to coronavirus from NHeLP and from our trusted partners.
Fact Sheet: Overview on Using Medicaid to Respond to COVID-19
In a new fact sheet, Director of Health Policy Leo Cuello discusses how states have several major paths to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic using Medicaid. States have numerous points of discretionary authority, some special discretionary authority that arises in emergency scenarios, normal state plan amendment (SPA) options, and waiver authorities (particularly section 1135 authority). This overview is intended to help advocates better understand and shape state Medicaid responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
NHeLP COVID-19 Publications
Coronavirus Related Blogs
Additional Resources
Below are resources from NHeLP, government agencies, and trusted partners that we believe are helpful for advocates. As information about the pandemic changes rapidly, please be vigilant in making sure all information you read is current.
Resources Related to Medicaid Authorities
- NHeLP – Use of Emergency Medicaid State Plan Amendments During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- NHeLP – Webinar: Changing Medicaid Programs to Meet COVID-19 Needs
- NHeLP – Video – 1135 Waivers: CMS Ignoring the Best Tool to Fight COVID-19
- NHeLP – COVID-19 Changes to HCBS Using Appendix K: Approval Trends
- NHeLP – Overview on Using Medicaid to Respond to COVID-19
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – Section 1135 Waiver Approvals
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – State Plan Amendment Approvals
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – COVID-19 FAQs for State Medicaid and CHIP Agencies
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – Inventory of Medicaid and CHIP Flexibilities and Authorities in the Event of a Disaster
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – Coronavirus Disease 2019 Disaster Response Toolkit
- Kaiser Family Foundation – Medicaid Emergency Authority Tracker
- Georgetown Center for Children and Families — Approved 1135 Waivers and State Plan Amendments for COVID-19
- Justice in Aging – Emergency Modifications to State HCBS Programs
- Manatt Health – Targeted Options for Increasing Medicaid Payments to Providers During COVID-19 Crisis
- American Medical Association – Policy options for states to address COVID-19
Legislation and Related Resources
- NHeLP – Overview of the Medicaid-Related Provisions of the Coronavirus Response Packages
- NHeLP – Letter to Congress on Economic Priorities in COVID-19 Legislation
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – Larger, Longer-Lasting Increases in Federal Medicaid Funding Needed to Protect Coverage
- Manatt – Summary of Key Healthcare Provisions in the Second COVID-19 Stimulus Bill
- Georgetown University Center for Children and Families – Families First Coronavirus Response Act Medicaid and CHIP Provisions Explained
- Kaiser Family Foundation – The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act: Summary of Key Health Provisions
- Kaiser Family Foundation – The Families First Coronavirus Response Act: Summary of Key Provisions
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – Medicaid Protections in Families First Act Critical to Protecting Health Coverage
Resources Related to Eligibility and Enrollment
- NHeLP – Overview of the Medicaid-Related Provisions of the Coronavirus Response Packages
- NHeLP – Blog: Streamlining Medicaid Enrollment During COVID-19
- NHeLP – Blog: Leave No Californian Behind: California’s Efforts to Ease Access to Medi-Cal During the Pandemic
- NHeLP – Blog: Medi-Cal Applications Must Be Processed Even When Local Medi-Cal Offices are Closed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
- NHeLP – Blog: Congress’ Stimulus Package and Its Impact on MAGI
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – COVID-19 FAQs on Implementation of Section 6008 of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
- State Health and Value Strategies – CARES Act Unemployment Insurance Expansion and Stimulus Payments – Considerations for States
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – FAQ: Coronavirus Outbreak and Health Coverage Programs
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – Streamlining Medicaid Enrollment During COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
- Kaiser Family Foundation – Changes in Income and Health Coverage Eligibility After Job Loss Due to COVID-19
Resources Related to Due Process
- NHeLP – Medicaid and Due Process during the COVID-19 Pandemic
- NHeLP – Blog: Medicaid Due Process and COVID-19 – Part I
Resources Related to Private Insurance Coverage
- NHeLP – Telehealth Guidance for California Private Plans During the COVID-19 Emergency
- NHeLP – Blog: Coronavirus Highlights the Fool’s Gold of High-Deductible Health Plans
- The Commonwealth Fund — State Action Related to COVID-19 Coverage of Critical Services by Private Insurers
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – FAQ on Essential Health Benefits (EHB)
Resources Related to Reproductive and Sexual Health
- NHeLP – Blog: Keep Essential Care: Maternal Health
- NHeLP – Blog: Keep Essential Care: Abortion
- Essential Access Health – Telehealth Essentials for Sexual + Reproductive Health Care
- Kaiser Family Foundation – How Publicly-Funded Family Planning Providers are Adapting in the COVID-19 Pandemic
- If/When/How – COVID-19 Policy Platform Demands Reproductive Self-Determination for All of Us
- Guttmacher Institute – COVID-19 Potential Fallout for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
- Kaiser Family Foundation – Novel Coronavirus “COVID-19”: Special Considerations for Pregnant Women
- The New York Times – Coronavirus Threatens an Already Strained Maternal Health System
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists – Five Things State Medicaid Agencies Should Do Now To Improve Care For Pregnant And Postpartum Women
- Kaiser Family Foundation – State Action to Limit Abortion Access During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Resources Related to Disability and Long-Term Services and Supports
- NHeLP – COVID-19 Changes to HCBS Using Appendix K: Approval Trends
- NHeLP – Blog: Telehealth and Disability: Challenges and Opportunities for Care
- NHeLP – Blog: Disability, Race, and Structural Inequity: COVID-19 and the Long-Term Care Workforce
- NHeLP – Blog: Keep Essential Care: Direct Service Professionals
- NHeLP – Blog: Keep Essential Care: Home and Community-Based Care
- Kaiser Family Foundation – State Reporting of Cases and Deaths Due to COVID-19 in Long-Term Care Facilities
- Kaiser Family Foundation – COVID-19 Issues and Medicaid Policy Options for People Who Need Long-Term Services and Supports
- Center for Public Representation – COVID-19 Resources
Resources Related to Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Treatment
- NHeLP – Blog: Keep Essential Care: Mental Health Services
- NHeLP – Blog: Keep Essential Care: Substance Use Disorder Treatment
- NHeLP – Blog: During the COVID-19 Pandemic, States Need to Rethink their Delivery of Behavioral Health Services
Resources Related to Telehealth
- NHeLP – Fact Sheet on Telehealth and Medicaid during COVID-19
- NHeLP – Medi-Cal Telehealth Guidance During the COVID-19 Emergency
- NHeLP – Telehealth Guidance for California Private Plans During the COVID-19 Emergency
- NHeLP – Blog: Telehealth and Disability: Challenges and Opportunities for Care
- NHeLP – Blog: California Responds to COVID-19 By Expanding Telehealth
- NHeLP – Blog: People on Medi-Cal Can Access Behavioral Health Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic through Telehealth and Relaxed Prescribing Practices
- Essential Access Health – Telehealth Essentials for Sexual + Reproductive Health Care
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – State Medicaid & CHIP Telehealth Toolkit
- Center for Connected Health Policy – COVID-19 Related State Telehealth Actions
Resources Related to Services and Prescription Drugs
- NHeLP – Blog: Keep Essential Care: How Advocates Can Protect Access to Essential Care Services
- NHeLP – Blog: Keep Essential Care: HIV/AIDS Care
- NHeLP – Blog: Ensuring People Have Access to Prescription Drugs During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- NHeLP – Blog: The Administration’s Assault on the ACA Undermining Coronavirus Efforts
Resources Related to Communities of Color
- NHeLP – Blog: Can Coronavirus (COVID-19) be the Tipping Point for Health Equity?
- NHeLP – Blog: Disability, Race, and Structural Inequity: COVID-19 and the Long-Term Care Workforce
- NHeLP – Blog: The Effects of COVID-19 on the African American Community
- NHeLP – Video: The Effects of COVID-19 on the African American Community
- NHeLP – Blog: The Navajo Nation Responds to COVID-19
- ProPublica – The First 100: COVID-19 Took Black Lives First. It Didn’t Have To.
- Kaiser Family Foundation – Communities of Color at Higher Risk for Health and Economic Challenges due to COVID-19
- Shriver Center for Poverty Law – Racism Laid Bare with COVID-19
- Brookings – How to Reduce the Racial Gap in COVID-19 Deaths
Resources Related to Immigration and Xenophobia
- NHeLP – Blog: Keep Essential Care: Language Access
- NHeLP – Blog: Immigrant Health Care in the Time of Coronavirus
- Protecting Immigrant Families – Immigrant Eligibility for Public Programs During COVID-19
- National Immigration Law Center – Understanding the Impact of Key Provisions of COVID-19 Relief Bills on Immigrant Communities
- National Immigration Law Center – Update on Access to Health Care for Immigrants and Their Families
- OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates – Toolkit: Strategies to Defeat Asian American Racial Profiling and Xenophobia
- National Council of Asian Pacific Americans – Letter: 260 Civil Rights Organizations Call on Congress to Denounce Anti-Asian Racism around COVID-19
Resources Related to the LGBTQ Community
- Fenway Institute – Considerations for People Living with HIV and LGBTQIA+ People
Resources Related to Children’s Health
- State Health & Values Strategies – COVID-19 and CHIP
- HealthyChildren.org – Coronavirus Resource for Children and Families
Resources Related to California Medicaid (Medi-Cal)
- NHeLP – Fact Sheet: Medi-Cal Telehealth Guidance During the COVID-19 Emergency
- NHeLP – Fact Sheet: Telehealth Guidance for California Private Plans During the COVID-19 Emergency
- NHeLP – Blog: Leave No Californian Behind: California’s Efforts to Ease Access to Medi-Cal During the Pandemic
- NHeLP – Blog: Medi-Cal Applications Must Be Processed Even When Local Medi-Cal Offices are Closed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
- NHeLP – Blog: An Uphill Battle: California’s Efforts to Combat the COVID-19 Pandemic
- NHeLP – Blog: California Responds to COVID-19 By Expanding Telehealth
- NHeLP – Blog: People on Medi-Cal Can Access Behavioral Health Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic through Telehealth and Relaxed Prescribing Practices
- Health Consumer Alliance – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information
Resources Related to Social Determinants of Health
- NHeLP – Blog: Can Coronavirus (COVID-19) be the Tipping Point for Health Equity?
- NHeLP – Blog: Disability, Race, and Structural Inequity: COVID-19 and the Long-Term Care Workforce
- NHeLP – Blog: The Effects of COVID-19 on the African American Community
- NHeLP – Video: The Effects of COVID-19 on the African American Community
- NHeLP – Blog: The Navajo Nation Responds to COVID-19
- NHeLP – Blog: On the Other Side, What Promises Will We Keep?
Other Resources
- NHeLP – Blog: Medicaid Block Grants are Cuts to Medicaid, Plain and Simple
- Kaiser Family Foundation – Expected Implications for Medicaid and State Budgets
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Coronavirus Resource Page
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – Fact Sheet: CMS COVID-19 Emergency Declaration
