- Posted
- January 24, 2025
Graphic of the week: State action on Medicaid school-based health

HPIO analysis that was included in its recently released policy spotlight “School-Based Health Care and Medicaid" found that since 2014, 15 states have expanded the population of students for whom Medicaid can reimburse for healthcare services to include all Medicaid-enrolled students (not only those with an IEP), as displayed above.
In addition, six states expanded Medicaid reimbursement to a limited set of services (e.g., behavioral health services, school nursing services) to all Medicaid-enrolled students and four states expanded eligibility for Medicaid reimbursement to a subset of the Medicaid-enrolled student population (e.g., students with a 504 plan, which is a formal document that outlines supports or modifications needed by a student with disabilities to ensure they have equal access to education).
According to the publication, the federal government in 2014 increased flexibility for states to cover school-based health services for students enrolled in Medicaid (more than 703,000 students in Ohio). The new HPIO policy spotlight explores the opportunities this federal policy change presents for Ohio to leverage Medicaid reimbursement to improve the health and well-being of students.
“Children from families with low incomes, and therefore eligible for Medicaid, often experience more barriers to accessing health care due to factors such as lack of transportation or parent challenges taking time off work,” the report states. “These barriers increase the value of school-based health services for families.”