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. Updated August 11, 2020.
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
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.
NHeLP Top Ten Lists
- NHeLP – Top Ten List: Maintenance of Effort Requirement Compliance
- NHeLP – Top Ten List: Reproductive and Sexual Health Care Access in the Time of COVID-19
- NHeLP – Top Ten List: Transitions in the Medicaid Program in Light of COVID-19
- NHeLP – Top Ten List: Telehealth Coverage During COVID-19
- NHeLP – Top Ten List: Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- NHeLP – Top Ten List: Coverage of COVID Testing and Treatment for Immigrants
NHeLP Health Equity Blog Series
- NHeLP – Blog: COVID-19: The Unveiling and Magnification of Healthcare Disparities in America
- NHeLP – Blog: Pacific Islanders Fight COVID-19 and Historical Inequities With Community
- NHeLP – Blog: Homelessness and Health in the Time of COVID-19
- NHeLP – The Effects of COVID-19 on America’s Hispanic and Latinx Communities
- NHeLP – Blog: More Broken Promises? Native Americans Endure COVID-19
- NHeLP – Blog: Black, Disabled, and Uncounted
- NHeLP – Blog: COVID-19 Highlights Unequal Treatment of People of Color in U.S. Territories
- NHeLP – Blog: Excluding Immigrants from COVID-19 Relief: What’s Old is New Again
- NHeLP – Blog: COVID-19: Exacerbating Old Barriers for Immigrants
- NHeLP – Blog: Advancing Health Equity for Asian Americans in the time of COVID-19
- NHeLP – Blog: Health Disparities Facing Older Adults of Color amid COVID-19: Guest Blog by Justice in Aging
Resources Related to Medicaid Authorities
- NHeLP – Medicaid in Transitions — Monitoring COVID-Related Changes in Coverage
- NHeLP – Top Ten List: Transitions in the Medicaid Program in Light of COVID-19
- 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
Legislation and Related Resources
- NHeLP – Medicaid Needs to Remain the Hero: A Summary of the HEROES Act
- NHeLP – Blog: Medicaid is the Hero in The HEROES Act
- NHeLP – Overview of the Medicaid-Related Provisions of the Coronavirus Response Packages
- NHeLP – Letter to Congress on Economic Priorities in COVID-19 Legislation
- NHeLP – Top Ten List: Maintenance of Effort Requirement Compliance
- Families USA – The Fierce Urgency of Now: Federal and State Policy Recommendations to Address Health Inequities in the Era of COVID-19
- Families USA – Health Equity Policy Priorities for COVID-19: What Congress Can Do Right Now
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – Larger, Longer-Lasting Increases in Federal Medicaid Funding Needed to Protect Coverage
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – Medicaid Protections in Families First Act Critical to Protecting Health Coverage
- 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
Resources Related to Eligibility and Enrollment
- NHeLP – Overview of the Medicaid-Related Provisions of the Coronavirus Response Packages
- NHeLP – Top Ten List: Maintenance of Effort Requirement Compliance
- NHeLP – Top Ten List: Coverage of COVID Testing and Treatment for Immigrants
- 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
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – COVID-19 FAQs on Implementation of of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and CARES Act
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – Operationalizing Implementation of the Optional COVID-19 Testing Group – Potential State Flexibilities
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – Medicaid Enrollment Continues to Rise
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – State Medicaid Changes Can Improve Access to Coverage and Care During and After COVID-19 Crisis
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – With Need Rising, Medicaid Is at Risk for Cuts
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – Streamlining Medicaid Enrollment During COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
- Kaiser Family Foundation – Analysis of Recent National Trends in Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment
- Kaiser Family Foundation – State Actions to Facilitate Access to Medicaid and CHIP Coverage in Response to COVID-19
Resources Related to Due Process
- NHeLP – COVID-19 Litigation Docket
- NHeLP – Medicaid in Transitions — Monitoring COVID-Related Changes in Coverage
- NHeLP – Top Ten List: Transitions in the Medicaid Program in Light of COVID-19
- 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 about Families First Coronavirus Response Act and CARES ACT
- National Association of Insurance Commissioners Consumer Representatives – Protecting Consumers During COVID-19: Recommendations for State Policymakers
Resources Related to Reproductive and Sexual Health
- NHeLP – Top Ten List: Reproductive and Sexual Health Care Access in the Time of COVID-19
- NHeLP – Blog: Win for Abortion Access during COVID19 (And hopefully beyond?)
- NHeLP – Blog: Keep Essential Care: Maternal Health
- NHeLP – Blog: Keep Essential Care: Abortion
- Guttmacher Institute – COVID-19 Job Losses Threaten Insurance Coverage And Access To Reproductive Health Care For Millions
- Center for American Progress – States Must Expand Telehealth To Improve Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Care
- 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 – Medicaid in Transitions — Monitoring COVID-Related Changes in Coverage
- NHeLP – COVID-19 Changes to HCBS Using Appendix K: Approval Trends
- NHeLP – Blog: Black, Disabled, and Uncounted
- NHeLP – Blog: COVID-19 Crisis: Unspoken Impacts on Older Adults and Persons with Disabilities
- NHeLP – Blog: Home-Based Care under COVID-19: A Do No Harm Approach to Assessing Needs
- 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 Actions to Sustain Medicaid Long-Term Services and Supports During COVID-19
- Center for American Progress – Investing in Home and Community-Based Care During the Coronavirus Pandemic and Future Disasters
- The ARC, ASAN, Bazelon, CPR, CommunicationFirst, & DREDF – Evaluation Framework for Hospital Visitor Policies
- 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 – Top Ten List: Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- NHeLP – Blog: Medicaid Beneficiaries Need Better Access to Behavioral Telehealth Services
- NHeLP – Blog: Medicaid Offers Critical Support for People Who Are Experiencing Behavioral Health Crises During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- 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 – Medicaid Principles on Telehealth
- NHeLP – Medicaid in Transitions — Monitoring COVID-Related Changes in Coverage
- NHeLP – Top Ten List: Telehealth Coverage During COVID-19
- 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: Medicaid Beneficiaries Need Better Access to Behavioral Telehealth Services
- NHeLP – Blog: Win for Abortion Access during COVID19 (And hopefully beyond?)
- 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
- Kaiser Family Foundation – State Efforts to Expand Medicaid Coverage & Access to Telehealth in Response to COVID-19
- Center for Connected Health Policy – COVID-19 Related State Telehealth Actions
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – State Medicaid & CHIP Telehealth Toolkit
- Kaiser Family Foundation – Medication Abortion and Telemedicine: Innovations and Barriers During the COVID-19 Emergency
- Center for American Progress – States Must Expand Telehealth To Improve Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Care
Resources Related to Services and Prescription Drugs
- NHeLP – Medicaid in Transitions — Monitoring COVID-Related Changes in Coverage
- NHeLP – Top Ten List: Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- NHeLP – Top Ten List: Transitions in the Medicaid Program in Light of COVID-19
- NHeLP – Blog: Win for Abortion Access during COVID19 (And hopefully beyond?)
- 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
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities – With Need Rising, Medicaid Is at Risk for Cuts
Resources Related to Communities of Color
- NHeLP – Blog: More Broken Promises? Native Americans Endure COVID-19
- NHeLP – The Effects of COVID-19 on America’s Hispanic and Latinx Communities
- NHeLP – Blog: Pacific Islanders Fight COVID-19 and Historical Inequities With Community
- NHeLP – Blog: Black, Disabled, and Uncounted
- NHeLP – Blog: COVID-19 Highlights Unequal Treatment of People of Color in U.S. Territories
- NHeLP – Blog: COVID-19: The Unveiling and Magnification of Healthcare Disparities in America
- NHeLP – Blog: Advancing Health Equity for Asian Americans in the time of COVID-19
- NHeLP – Blog: Health Disparities Facing Older Adults of Color amid COVID-19: Guest Blog by Justice in Aging
- 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
- Kaiser Family Foundation – Racial Disparities in COVID-19: Key Findings from Available Data and Analysis
- Families USA – The Fierce Urgency of Now: Federal and State Policy Recommendations to Address Health Inequities in the Era of COVID-19
- Families USA – Health Equity Policy Priorities for COVID-19: What Congress Can Do Right Now
- 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 – Top Ten List: Coverage of COVID Testing and Treatment for Immigrants
- NHeLP – The Effects of COVID-19 on America’s Hispanic and Latinx Communities
- NHeLP – Blog: Pacific Islanders Fight COVID-19 and Historical Inequities With Community
- NHeLP – Blog: Excluding Immigrants from COVID-19 Relief: What’s Old is New Again
- NHeLP – Blog: COVID-19: Exacerbating Old Barriers for Immigrants
- NHeLP – Blog: Advancing Health Equity for Asian Americans in the time of COVID-19
- NHeLP – Blog: Keep Essential Care: Language Access
- NHeLP – Blog: Immigrant Health Care in the Time of Coronavirus
- Protecting Immigrant Families Campaign – 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 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: Black, Disabled, and Uncounted
- NHeLP – Blog: Pacific Islanders Fight COVID-19 and Historical Inequities With Community
- NHeLP – Blog: Homelessness and Health in the Time of COVID-19
- NHeLP – The Effects of COVID-19 on America’s Hispanic and Latinx Communities
- NHeLP – Blog: More Broken Promises? Native Americans Endure COVID-19
- NHeLP – Blog: COVID-19 Highlights Unequal Treatment of People of Color in U.S. Territories
- NHeLP – Blog: Excluding Immigrants from COVID-19 Relief: What’s Old is New Again
- NHeLP – Blog: COVID-19: Exacerbating Old Barriers for Immigrants
- NHeLP – Blog: COVID-19: The Unveiling and Magnification of Healthcare Disparities in America
- NHeLP – Blog: Advancing Health Equity for Asian Americans in the time of COVID-19
- NHeLP – Blog: Rural North Carolina Remains Vulnerable to COVID-19 Pandemic
- NHeLP – Blog: The COVID-19 Pandemic Will Cause Deep Cuts to Rural America
- 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?
- Kaiser Family Foundation – Understanding the Intersection of Medicaid, Work, and COVID-19
- Families USA – The Fierce Urgency of Now: Federal and State Policy Recommendations to Address Health Inequities in the Era of COVID-19
- Families USA – Health Equity Policy Priorities for COVID-19: What Congress Can Do Right Now
Resources Related to Medicaid Managed Care
- Kaiser Family Foundation – Medicaid Managed Care Rates and Flexibilities: State Options to Respond to COVID-19 Pandemic
- Commonwealth Fund – States Are Using Medicaid Managed Care to Address the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Georgetown Center for Children and Families – COVID-19, State Budget Deficits, and Medicaid Managed Care
- Georgetown Center for Children and Families – Redirecting Medicaid MCO Gains to Offset Network Provider Losses in the Time of COVID-19
Other Resources
- NHeLP – COVID-19 Litigation Docket
- NHeLP – Blog: Medicaid Block Grants are Cuts to Medicaid, Plain and Simple
- Kaiser Family Foundation – Expected Implications for Medicaid and State Budgets
- Kaiser Family Foundation – Options to Support Medicaid Providers in Response to COVID-19
