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
Additional Resources
Below are additional resources from 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.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Coronavirus Resource Page
- Medicaid.gov – Inventory of Medicaid and CHIP Flexibilities and Authorities in the Event of a Disaster
- Medicaid.gov – State Resource Disaster Response Toolkit
- Kaiser Family Foundation – Medicaid Emergency Authority Tracker: Approved State Actions to Address COVID-19
- American Medical Association – Policy options for states to address COVID-19
- National Emergency Management Association – Webinar: Non-Traditional Authorities in COVID-19 Response
Resources from Centers on Medicare and Medicaid Services
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – Press Release: CMS COVID-19 Emergency Declaration
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – Fact Sheet: CMS COVID-19 Emergency Declaration
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – Medicaid and CHIP: Coverage and Benefits Related to COVID-19
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – Guidance for Nursing Homes
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – FAQ on Essential Health Benefits (EHB)
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – COVID-19 Response News Alert: FAQs for State Medicaid and CHIP Agencies
Legislation and Related Resources
- 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
- Moms’ Rising – Petition: Tell Congress to Pass Paid Sick Days for Coronavirus Prevention
Resources Related to Immigration and Xenophobia
- Protecting Immigrant Families – Immigrant Eligibility for Public Programs During COVID-19
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
- Protecting Immigrant Families – Factsheet: Know Your Rights, Protect Your Health
- Protecting Immigrant Families – Talking Points: Coronavirus
- *The Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) – Language Access Resources for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians & Pacific Islanders
Resources from Kaiser Family Foundation
- Kaiser Family Foundation – Communities of Color at Higher Risk for Health and Economic Challenges due to COVID-19
- Kaiser Family Foundation – Brief on Medicaid and COVID-19
- Kaiser Family Foundation – Brief on Paid Sick Leave and Low-paid Workers
- Kaiser Family Foundation – Global Health Tracker
Resources Related to Reproductive and Sexual Health
- 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
Resources for 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 Medicare
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – 2019-Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Medicare Provider Enrollment Relief FAQs
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – Fact Sheet: Expansion of Accelerated and Advance Payment Program for Medicare Providers and Suppliers
Resources for Nonprofits
- Lawyers for Good Government – Covid-19 Small Business Legal Clinic Project
*This is a crowd sourced document.
Coronavirus Related Blogs
Fact Sheet: COVID-19 Changes to Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Using Appendix K – Approval Trends
States have many options for adjusting their Medicaid services to best meet evolving needs under the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the important mechanisms for ensuring people with disabilities have access to the home and community-based services (HCBS) they need to stay safely at home is an Appendix K to existing 1915(c) waivers. This factsheet by Elizabeth Edwards discusses CMS’s guidance for using Appendix K for the COVID-19 pandemic and trends in the Appendix Ks approved thus far.
Blog: Ensuring People Have Access to Prescription Drugs During the COVID-19 Pandemic
As many communities are closing businesses, canceling public gatherings, and encouraging people to engage in “social distancing” or voluntary isolation related to COVID-19, people will need to make sure they have access to the medications they rely on during an extended period at home. In a new blog, senior attorneys Abbi Coursolle and Wayne Turner discuss program-specific rules for how to obtain prescription drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Blog: The Administration’s Assault on the ACA Undermining Coronavirus Efforts
Evidence-based, patient-centered health policy is important for the health and well-being of communities year-round, but it becomes particularly important during a crisis. Learn how attempts by the Trump administration to sabotage the Affordable Care Act have left the United States less prepared for the spread of the coronavirus in a new blog by NHeLP’s Wayne Turner and Héctor Hernández-Delgado.
Kaiser Permanente Contributes $1 million to Support COVID-19 Response
Kaiser Permanente is contributing $1 million to 10 leading public health organizations and collaborating with CDC Foundation to strengthen the United States’ public health infrastructure and response systems to stop the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The National Health Law Program is proud to be one of those organizations.
Public Health and Law Experts Issue Guidelines for U.S. Response to Coronavirus Transmission
The National Health Law Program joined over 800 public health, human rights, and legal experts and organizations in sending an open letter to Vice President Pence regarding the spread of the coronavirus. The open letter details a series of recommendations that government officials must consider through new legislation, policies, leadership, and spending. The recommendations stress the protection of vulnerable populations, including health care workers, people living with chronic health conditions, incarcerated individuals, and older adults.
Statement: NHeLP Expresses Deep Concern Over Racist and Xenophobic Reactions During Coronavirus Outbreak
The National Health Law Program defends the health care rights of all individuals. While we are deeply concerned by the recent outbreak of coronavirus and the lives it has taken around the world, we are equally concerned about the racist and xenophobic attitudes that the outbreak has caused towards individuals of Asian descent…
