The flexibility of the Medicaid program allows states to design and modify their programs according to their specific needs and to respond to emergencies. When President Donald Trump issued Proclamation 9994 on March 13, 2020, Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak, this enabled the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to exercise a number of emergency powers that allow the federal government and states to further tailor their Medicaid response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This presentation describes how CMS and states are responding to the national emergency, including statutory authorities for emergency declarations, Medicaid authorities available to states, steps taken by CMS and states, congressional action, and other considerations for Medicaid’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.