Mapping Medicaid Nutrition Coverage: Where Are We Now and Where Can We Go?

Approximately 90 million individuals are enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, making Medicaid one of the largest sources of health insurance in the United States. The federal government provides the majority of Medicaid funds and sets certain minimums for what states must cover, but states have broad flexibilities in designing the specifics of their Medicaid programs, making it challenging to understand what nutrition care services are covered in which states, for which populations, and by which providers.

To address this, the Academy partnered with George Washington University to complete a Medicaid mapping project to understand the landscape of nutrition care services coverage across state Medicaid programs. Listeners learn about how state Medicaid programs are designed and administered, hear the results of the mapping project, and learn how to use these results to find what nutrition-related services are covered in their state.

Planned with the Legislative and Public Policy and Nutrition Services Payment Committees

CPE Level: Level 2 (intermediate knowledge/experience)
CPEU: 1.5

Performance Indicators

• 14.2.6 Applies knowledge of payment and reimbursement models
• 3.3.5 Advocates for financial support and insurance coverage for patients/clients to ensure access to nutrition services.
• 12.1.4 Influences legislation, regulation, and policy changes to impact nutrition and well-being in the community.

Learning Objectives

• Describe the basic structure of the Medicaid program, including populations covered, benefits and eligibility requirements and services
• Utilize Academy tools to identify opportunities to provide nutrition care services to Medicaid participants
• Apply learnings from the session that will support advocacy strategies to expand access to nutrition services in Medicaid programs

Moderator

• Manju Karkare

Speakers

• Betsy Hjelmgren
• Anne Markus
• Matt Salo