Tekisha Dwan Everette and Karen Siegel, Health Equity Solutions

Early evidence suggests there are health disparities based on race, gender, and geography in both the contraction of COVID-19 and deaths related to the virus. People of color and those who live in urban centers are faring worse from this pandemic. These higher rates of illness and death are rooted in longstanding, structural inequities in our country. While these inequities cannot be fixed overnight, states can begin to foster a more equitable and just COVID-19 response, relief, and recovery effort by employing a few key guidelines. This expert perspective poses a series of questions states can use to inform immediate actions to strengthen their initial responses and lay the foundation for broader reforms to advance health equity.

Updates from the states as of May 1, 2020.

Updates from the states as of April 24, 2020.

On Wednesday, March 18, Congress enacted, and the President signed into law, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) which included a 6.2 percentage point increase in the regular Medicaid matching rate. This expert perspective reviews key information for states about the FMAP increase and conditions they must meet to qualify for it.

This expert perspective considers the policy implications and challenges for states and discusses potential state measures to address sensitive implementation challenges given interactions with eligibility for health care programs and CARES Act unemployment insurance expansion and stimulus payments.

An expert perspective about state actions to extend grace periods, during which insurance coverage cannot be cancelled for non-payment of premiums, in the individual market in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This piece highlights the risks to consumers of extending traditional grace periods, when not paired with additional protections, and suggests a range of options for addressing the limitations of grace periods. It also provides a primer on this important issue and describes a couple of wrinkles under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

This expert perspective summarizes the federal legislation and guidance and discusses actions state departments of insurance can take to encourage greater access to telehealth services.

This expert perspective includes recommended communication strategies—and some examples—for how states can elevate coverage options and help ensure that more residents can access health insurance during these uncertain times.

This expert perspective reviews the key indicators currently being tracked by states via their COVID-19 dashboards and also provides an overview of “best practices” states can consider when developing or modifying these same COVID-19 dashboards.

As concerns regarding widespread COVID-19 (Coronavirus) infection in the United States increase, state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) agencies are evaluating how to leverage their public health insurance programs to respond. This expert perspective discusses strategies state Medicaid and CHIP agencies can pursue as part of their emergency preparedness planning for, and response to, COVID-19.