As of September 2021, 16 states have expanded their school Medicaid programs, increasing access to school health services for more than 15 million children.
Healthy Students, Promising Futures has provided direct support to 12 of these states, including eight states in the HSPF Learning Collaborative.
Ongoing Support & Success
Via targeted technical assistance, peer-to-peer learning and opportunities to engage with federal agencies and national policy experts, HSPF state teams have successfully identified and overcome barriers to cooperation across state agencies and challenges to implementing new federal flexibilities. Their successes include:
- Improving health outcomes by increasing access to Medicaid-funded school health services and expanding the types of eligible health providers.
- Increasing sustainable federal revenue for states and school districts.
- Developing state-level guidance for the health and education systems, such as data sharing and coordination with managed care organizations.
- Forming new, cross-sector partnerships among state agencies, local school districts and state/local partner organizations.
Information Access & Advocacy
Healthy Schools Campaign, which manages HSPF, developed the first-of-its-kind online map representing the status of school Medicaid programs and provider eligibility in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This information makes it possible for states and school districts to identify gaps in coverage and take appropriate steps to increase access to Medicaid-funded school health services.
HSC has also published a number of guidebooks, policy briefs and articles on expanding school health services that are used to educate and support the work of policymakers and school health advocates. These works include:
- Schools are Key to Improving Children’s Health: How States Can Leverage Medicaid Funds to Expand School-Based Health Services
- Providing Health Services During School Closures: Lessons Learned + Recommendations for Action
- A Guide to Expanding Medicaid-Funded School Health Services (with Trust for America’s Health)
- Advancing Student Health and Achievement through Medicaid: Lessons Learned from State Efforts to Expand Medicaid-Funded School Health Services (Journal of School Health)
- Planning for the Next Normal at School: Keeping Students, Staff, and Families Safe and Healthy Guidance on Using COVID Relief Funding to Support School Health (with Thriving Schools)
- Restart & Recovery: Leveraging Federal COVID Relief Funding & Medicaid to Support Student & Staff Wellbeing & Connection (with Council for Chief State School Officers and National Center for School Mental Health)
