Free Care Policy

In 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a state Medicaid director letter reversing the free care policy. This change permits states more flexibility in their school-based Medicaid programs by allowing school districts to bill Medicaid for health services delivered to all Medicaid-enrolled children, not just those with a special education plan documented by an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Increasingly, states and school districts are seizing this new opportunity in Medicaid to expand access to and resources for school health services, which in many states entails changes to their state Medicaid plans and state guidance. States are increasingly pursuing these changes, recognizing the growing need to provide health services and supports to children where they spend the majority of their time: in school. 

For updates on state activity, please refer to the following brief: State Efforts to Implement the Free Care Policy Reversal