Report on Medicaid Coverage of Telehealth Abortion Services in Six States

The National Health Law Program has published a report on Medicaid Coverage of Telehealth Abortion Services in Six States (IL, MN, NM, NY, RI, WA). Here is a summary of the report scope: 

In 2022, the National Health Law Program started a project to comprehensively map the Medicaid coverage and reimbursement policies that impact access to telehealth medication abortion (TMAB) services. We published an in-depth report investigating the policy landscape in six states that use their own funding to provide abortion coverage for Medicaid enrollees. You can find that report and fact sheets for the six states here.

 

This report is the next installment in that series, examining the policies and regulations in a new set of states: Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington. This issue brief provides a thorough analysis of the major policies impacting coverage and reimbursement of TMAB, including detailing the major trends and highlighting policy barriers that impede comprehensive coverage and thus access to TMAB for Medicaid enrollees. It concludes with a discussion of the importance of Medicaid coverage of TMAB and highlight forthcoming work.

 

Here is the report conclusion: 

Comprehensive coverage of TMAB can combat travel and resource obstacles, facilitate faster access to care, and address privacy concerns. The costs associated with seeking an abortion in the post-Dobbs landscape disproportionately harm people facing structural barriers to care, like Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, LGTBQ+ individuals, people living in rural areas, young people, individuals with disabilities, and those struggling to make ends meet. This research shows that Medicaid coverage of TMAB has improved significantly, as states have established more robust coverage of the full spectrum of telehealth modalities, enhanced telehealth payment parity policies, and removed some restrictions around sites of care and patient-provider relationships. But gaps remain and the National Health Law Program will continue our research and advocacy to ensure that Medicaid enrollees have equitable access to all models of TMAB and in-person care.