Unwinding Continuous Coverage
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Opportunities to Improve Guidance on Phasing out the Public Health Emergency Continuous Eligibility Provision
In December 2020, the Trump administration issued guidance on unwinding the Medicaid continuous eligibility provision associated with the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). There are a number of opportunities for the Biden administration or Congress to strengthen requirements for states to ensure that eligible Medicaid enrollees do not lose coverage at the end of the…
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Medicaid Wars: The Unwinding Begins (Episode I)
Over the past four years, the Trump Administration has tried to undermine Medicaid by capping federal funding and stigmatizing its beneficiaries. This relentless ideological assault continued to the bitter end, even after the January 6 attack on the Capitol. As my colleague Joan Alker has explained, Secretary Azar and CMS Administrator Verma took actions on…
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Biden Administration Promises Predictability on Future Extensions of the Public Health Emergency
In a recent letter to Governors, Acting Health and Human Services Secretary Norris Cochran signaled that the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) “will likely remain in place for the entirety of 2021.” Moreover, the letter assures states that when a determination is made to terminate the PHE or let it expire, HHS will provide states…
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CMS Releases Guidance on Unwinding the COVID-19 MOE
States and stakeholders now have the long-awaited CMS guidance on advance planning in Medicaid and CHIP for the end of the public health emergency (PHE). There’s a lot to digest in this 54-page State Health Official letter (SHO). It discusses what happens to the various pandemic-related authorities and waivers and what states must do to…
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Secretary Azar Extends Public Health Emergency Medicaid Protections for Beneficiaries and States
[Editor’s Note: For more up-to-date developments on the status of the public health emergency read CCF’s latest blog post on this topic.] On Friday HHS Secretary Azar renewed his declaration of a public health emergency (PHE) due to the coronavirus pandemic. The renewal is effective October 23, when the previous 90-day renewal would have expired,…
