The Future of the Indispensable Insurer: The Biden Administration and Medicaid

Medicaid presents both legislative and regulatory challenges and opportunities. As it moves a legislative agenda forward, the Biden administration also will confront a series of immediate regulatory matters, some of which have been made urgent because of pending judicial action. Chief among these pressing matters are ending Medicaid work requirements and block grant experiments, rescinding the public charge rule, ensuring optimal use of Medicaid's enrollment and renewal simplification tools, rescinding the Title X family planning rule (which has enormous implications for Medicaid beneficiaries), and, when the time comes, preparing states to wind down the “Families First” Medicaid maintenance of effort protection while avoiding erroneous beneficiary disenrollment. The administration could consider encouraging remaining nonexpansion states to pursue §1115 Medicaid expansion experiments; additionally, the administration could pursue Medicaid pandemic recovery demonstrations to support health system recovery during the long period that lies ahead. Thus, while certain advances must await legislation, the administration can move Medicaid forward through executive action.