Resources to Protect School Medicaid and Student Health
November 21, 2025 | Written By: Healthy Schools Campaign
Photo by Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages
Healthy Schools Campaign is committed to protecting Medicaid funding that supports children’s health and well-being. Please share the resources below with your networks. This page is regularly updated with new materials (updated: January 2026).
Medicaid funding is essential for school-based health services — and for state and school district budgets overall. In 2024, Medicaid supported approximately $8 billion in school health services.
The 2025 budget reconciliation bill (H.R.1) cuts almost $1 trillion in federal Medicaid funding over the next decade. As states grapple with balancing state budgets, there will be negative ripple effects on student health services, schools and communities. This is how it may look on the ground:
- State budget gaps: State budget shortfalls will force school districts to compete for a smaller share of state dollars and force states to cut other parts of K-12 budgets.
- District budget gaps: Cuts in Medicaid funding will require districts to divert funds from other educational programs to cover services for students with disabilities mandated under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
- Cost to communities: With many districts relying on Medicaid reimbursement to cover personnel costs for special education programs, school districts may need to raise property taxes and/or reduce or eliminate programs and services (including non-Medicaid services), to fund school budgets.
The bottom line: With limited available funds, students may experience reduced access to school health services, staffing and critical health supplies.
Advocacy Guide Protecting School Medicaid in States and School Districts Amid Federal Funding Cuts This toolkit, produced by Healthy Schools Campaign and Community Catalyst, includes actions you can take to urge state leaders to reject Medicaid policies that jeopardize funding for school health services. It also offers suggestions for longer-term strategies to maximize school Medicaid funding and includes links to related policy briefs and other advocacy resources. |
Learn More
Survey of School District Leaders
- How Medicaid Cuts Will Harm Students & Schools presents the findings of a 2025 nationwide survey of more than 1,400 school district leaders on the role of school Medicaid and the potential impact of Medicaid cuts on school health services, student resources and district funding. National policy experts and school officials joined Healthy Schools Campaign for a webinar to discuss the survey results and future actions.
- Related publications drawing on survey responses:
How Medicaid Supports Students and Schools
- How Medicaid Supports Student Success – Healthy Schools Campaign (HSC) & Georgetown Center for Children and Families (CCF)
Advocacy Resources & Responses
- Letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in opposition to the interim final rule regarding Medicaid work requirements – Medicaid in Schools Coalition, including Healthy Schools Campaign (HSC), The School Superintendents Association (AASA) and National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)
- Letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in opposition to the proposed rule, “Medicaid Managed Care State Directed Payments and Medicaid Fee-for-Service Targeted Medicaid Practitioner Payments”– Medicaid in Schools Coalition, including Healthy Schools Campaign (HSC), The School Superintendents Association (AASA) and National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)
- Letter to the Department of Homeland Security in opposition to rescinding the current public charge inadmissibility provisions – Medicaid in Schools Coalition, including Healthy Schools Campaign (HSC), The School Superintendents Association (AASA) and National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)
- Public Charge Changes Will Have Far-Reaching Consequences for Children, Pregnant Women and Families and Sow Fear in Immigrant Communities – Georgetown Center for Children and Families (CCF)
- Children’s Access to Healthcare in Schools: State Strategies to Address Medicaid Cuts – HSC’s recommendations for how states can protect students’ access to care
- Letter to CMS re: School-Based Services Technical Assistance Center – Medicaid in Schools Coalition
