Kaiser Family Foundation Annual Survey Finds Most State 2021 Medicaid Planning Focused on COVID-19

Every year, the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) releases its 50-State Medicaid Budget Survey, a very useful tool for informing federal and state advocacy. This year, KFF reported that:

“Nearly all states reported significant adverse economic and state budgetary impacts driven by the pandemic, as well as uncertainty about the future. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, states continue to encounter challenges to provide Medicaid coverage and access for a growing number of Americans, while also facing plummeting revenues and deepening state budget gaps. State Medicaid officials highlighted swift and effective state responses to the pandemic, such as the rapid expansion of telehealth, as well as ongoing efforts to advance delivery system reforms and to address health disparities and other public health challenges. In these ways, the pandemic has demonstrated how Medicaid can quickly evolve to address the nation’s most pressing health care challenges. However, the ability of states to sustain policies adopted in response to the pandemic (including through emergency authorities) may be tied to the duration of the PHE as well as the availability of additional federal fiscal relief and support. Looking ahead, great uncertainty remains regarding the future course of the pandemic, the scope and length of federal fiscal relief efforts, and what the ‘new normal’ will be in terms of service provision and demand. Results of the November 2020 elections could also have significant implications for the direction of federal Medicaid policy in the years ahead.”

We encourage our members to download the full report to see state Medicaid trends regarding:

• Eligibility
• Provider rates and taxes
• Delivery systems
• Long-term supports and services
• Benefits and telehealth
• Prescription drug challenges