Medicaid’s Response to COVID-19
Historically, Medicaid has played an important role in state and federal responses to public health emergencies, including natural disasters, disease outbreaks and others, such as the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Most recently, Medicaid has played a key role in the response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Learn more about how the federal government and the states are using available Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) authorities to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure availability of health services for beneficiaries.
Learn More about These Topics
- Section 1115 demonstration waivers
- Federal emergency authorities
- 1915(c) HCBS waiver Appendix K modifications
- Disaster relief state plan amendments
- Section 1135 waivers
Featured Publications
Implementation of the American Rescue Plan Act: Additional Support for Medicaid Home- and Community-Based Services during the COVID–19 Emergency
January 15, 2026
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA, P.L. 117-2), through a temporary increase in the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) of 10 percentage points, provided state Medicaid programs with the largest infusion of one-time federal funding for home- and community-based services (HCBS) in recent history. This funding was intended to support states in providing […]
State Reported Medicaid Unwinding Data
November 27, 2024
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (CAA, P.L. 117-328) decoupled the end of the continuous coverage requirement from the public health emergency (PHE), which provided states with a temporary 6.2 percentage point increase in the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP). The CAA established an end date of March 31, 2023, for the requirement and a […]
Access in Brief: Effects of COVID-19 on Medicaid Beneficiaries’ Health and Health Care Utilization
March 5, 2024
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major effect on the health and health care utilization of Americans, but there is limited information on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Medicaid beneficiaries. In this issue brief, we use data from the 2020 and 2021 National Health Interview Survey to compare demographics, COVID-19 diagnosis, severity of COVID-19, […]