Five Innovative State Medicaid Approaches to Combat COVID-19

Congress has passed several COVID-19 relief packages in a relatively short time. These legislative measures include a number of Medicaid and state fiscal relief provisions; however substantially more is needed from the federal government to help states manage their Medicaid programs. While waiting for additional federal support, many governors, state legislators, and Medicaid agencies are finding creative ways to use their prior and new authorities to meet their residents’ needs. This analysis highlights a few of the most innovative requests made by states to date and, in some cases, already approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).