School Medicaid Expansion: How (and How Many) States Have Taken Action to Increase School Health Access and Funding

October 2023

Healthy Schools Campaign has identified 25 states that have expanded their school Medicaid program to cover services outside of an IEP/IFSP using the “free care” policy reversal. This brief provides a summary of the actions each state took, along with related state documents and other resources that may be helpful to states working to increase access to and funding for physical, behavioral and mental school-based health services.

There is significant variation among these states. Some have completed comprehensive expansions (i.e., permitted their school Medicaid plan to cover all medically necessary services), while other states have chosen to expand coverage outside of an IEP only for certain groups of students or types of services. The report includes next steps for each type of expansion.