The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is committed to increasing access to health care services in ways that can narrow disparities in rates of care, promote quality education and achievement, and build a reliable system of support for every young person.
Schools are uniquely
credit:
positioned to help increase health equity and to help ensure that all children, including adolescents, have access to necessary health care services.
Although schools are primarily providers of education, the school setting provides a unique opportunity to:
enroll eligible children and adolescents in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP); deliver covered services, including behavioral health services (mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) services) to eligible children; and help children who are enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP access the services they need.
School-based services (SBS), which are Medicaid or CHIP-coverable services provided to children and adolescents in a school setting, play an important role in the health and well-being of children and adolescents, particularly for those enrolled in the Medicaid or CHIP programs.
Through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), CMS will fund recipient States to implement, enhance, or expand the provision of assistance through school-based entities under Medicaid and CHIP.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) authorized this funding and stipulates that States shall not use any grant funds to provide medical assistance, child health assistance, or other health services.