BLOG: Center for Healthcare Strategies Medicaid’s Role in the Next Phase of COVID-19 Response

The Center for Healthcare Strategies (CHCS) issued two new blogs focusing on Medicaid’s role in the next phase of the COVID-19 response. Per CHCS, across the nation, government, business, and community leaders are devising plans to reopen the economy and public spaces, while minimizing the risks associated with a second wave of COVID-19 infection. As states work to return to some semblance of normalcy, they are seeking to build surveillance capacity at the scale and speed necessary to phase down current restrictions without recreating conditions that led to the initial surge in infection and mortality. At the same time, the reopening of businesses poses questions about how to assist providers as the health care delivery system gradually opens.
In this two-part blog series, CHCS leaders explore Medicaid’s ever-evolving role in states’ COVID-19 response. Part I highlights Medicaid’s potential to partner in public health surveillance activities and details opportunities to sustain these partnerships to serve as a foundation for future COVID-19 recovery efforts. Part II outlines how Medicaid agencies can support effective reopening, with a focus on phasing-in ambulatory care delivery, addressing health-related social needs, bolstering provider finances, and collaborating with the right partners.
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