Emergency Flexibility for States to Increase and Maintain Medicaid Eligibility for LTSS under COVID-19

ABSTRACT

Medicaid provides essential coverage for health care and long-term services and supports (LTSS) to low-income older adults and disabled individuals but eligibility is complicated and restrictive. In light of the current public health emergency, states have been given new authority to streamline and increase the flexibility of Medicaid LTSS eligibility, helping them enroll eligible individuals and ensure that current beneficiaries are not inadvertently disenrolled. Though state budgets are under increased pressure during the economic crisis created by the coronavirus, we caution states against cutting Medicaid LTSS eligibility or services to balance their budgets. These services are critical to an especially vulnerable population during a global pandemic.

KEYWORDS:

• Aging
• long-term care
• Medicaid LTSS
• program eligibility
• Medicaid waivers
• state budgets

Key Points

• Medicaid provides essential health care and long-term services and supports (LTSS) to low-income older adults who are at particular risk from COVID-19;

• States have been given emergency authority to add flexibility to a complicated Medicaid eligibility process to ensure that eligible individuals get coverage;

• Policymakers who must balance state budgets during this economic crisis should not cut essential eligibility for needed services during a time of great need.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.