1、 https:/crsreports.congress.gov October 9, 2020Medicaid Telehealth Policies in Response to COVID-19Medicaid, authorized in Title XIX of the Social Security Act (SSA), is a federal-state program that jointly finances primary and acute medical services, as well as long-term services and supports (LTSS
2、), to a diverse low-income population. The 50 states, the District of Columbia (DC), and the five U.S. territories (American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico PR, and the U.S. Virgin Islands USVI) must follow broad federal rules to receive federal Medicaid fundin
3、g, but they have flexibility to design their own versions of Medicaid within the federal statutes basic framework. In addition, several waiver authorities allow states to operate their Medicaid programs outside of federal program rules. (For information on waivers, see CRS Report R43357, Medicaid: A
4、n Overview, and CRS Legal Sidebar LSB10430, Section 1135 Waivers and COVID-19: An Overview). This flexibility results in variability across state Medicaid programs in factors such as use of telehealth as a service delivery method. This In Focus provides background on Medicaid telehealth and an overv
