States Respond to COVID-19 Challenges but Also Take Advantage of New Opportunities to Address Long-Standing Issues

Kaiser Family Foundation: States Respond to COVID-19 Challenges but Also Take Advantage of New Opportunities to Address Long-Standing Issues: Results from a 50-state Medicaid Budget Survey for State Fiscal Years 2021 and 2022

This report highlights certain policies in place in state Medicaid programs in state FY 2021 and policy changes implemented or planned for FY 2022. The report also highlights state experiences with policies adopted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, an overwhelming majority of states noted the benefits of telehealth in maintaining or expanding access to care during the pandemic, particularly for behavioral health services. Nearly all responding states report covering a range of services via audio-visual telehealth as of July 2021, with slightly fewer reporting audio-only coverage. Post-pandemic telehealth coverage and reimbursement policies are being evaluated in most states, with states weighing expanded access against quality concerns, especially for audio-only telehealth.