Telehealth Archive

"A Guide to Expanding Medicaid-Funded School Health Services" provides background on school-based Medicaid and outlines various opportunities to advance state policy changes required to access federal funds.

The Guide covers best practices for bringing state Medicaid plans into alignment with federal policy; designing the administrative processes; and tackling other obstacles to improving student access to care. It also addresses building a sustainable funding structure and offers concrete lessons for collaboration among agencies.

Healthy Schools Campaign has published two new guidance documents that highlight how state education agencies and school districts can use COVID-relief funding to align spending with key health priorities.

This issue brief examines the challenges schools have encountered while providing physical, behavioral and mental health services during the Covid-19 pandemic. It considers the impact of state and federal policies, including how state Medicaid programs are responding to ensure reimbursement and funding, and it documents emerging best practices and guidance, especially around telemedicine and parental consent.

The extensive recommendations for state and federal agencies are designed to support the continuous delivery of school-based health services during this time of partial school reopenings and in the case of future health crises and natural disasters.

Healthy Schools Campaign and Trust for America’s Health are monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students and schools and highlighting guidance from our federal and national partners on how to support access to behavioral and physical health services.

Amanda Martin, Center for Rural Health Innovation

South Carolina is a very rural state with significant health care deserts; for example, some counties have no pediatricians. This creates barriers to care and results in poor health care outcomes and significant health disparities.