Federal Medicaid Law has three main parts. The first is who is eligible for Medicaid. This differs partly depending on whether your state has expanded its program.
The second aspect of Federal Medicaid Law is which services are covered. Federal law breaks this down into mandatory and optional services.
The list below outlines mandatory Medicaid benefits, which states are required to provide under federal law, and optional benefits that states may cover if they choose. Source : Medicaid.gov
Mandatory Benefits |
Optional Benefits |
Inpatient hospital services |
Prescription Drugs |
Outpatient hospital services |
Clinic services |
EPSDT: Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment Services |
Physical therapy |
Nursing Facility Services |
Occupational therapy |
Home health services |
Speech, hearing and language disorder services |
Physician services |
Respiratory care services |
Rural health clinic services |
Other diagnostic, screening, preventive and rehabilitative services |
Federally qualified health center services |
Podiatry services |
Laboratory and X-ray services |
Optometry services |
Family planning services |
Dental Services |
Nurse Midwife services |
Dentures |
Certified Pediatric and Family Nurse Practitioner services |
Prosthetics |
Freestanding Birth Center services (when licensed or otherwise recognized by the state) |
Eyeglasses |
Transportation to medical care |
Chiropractic services |
Tobacco cessation counseling for pregnant women |
Other practitioner services |
|
Private duty nursing services |
|
Personal Care |
|
Hospice |
|
Case management |
|
Services for Individuals Age 65 or Older in an Institution for Mental Disease (IMD) |
|
Services in an intermediate care facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disability |
|
State Plan Home and Community Based Services- 1915(i) |
|
Self-Directed Personal Assistance Services- 1915(j) |
|
Community First Choice Option- 1915(k) |
|
TB Related Services |
|
Inpatient psychiatric services for individuals under age 21 |
|
Other services approved by the Secretary* |
|
Health Homes for Enrollees with Chronic Conditions – Section 1945 |
*This includes services furnished in a religious nonmedical health care institution, emergency hospital services by a non-Medicare certified hospital, and critical access hospital (CAH).
Waivers are the third prong of the federal Medicaid program. They allow states to waive the income qualification requirements for certain children and adults, so that they can live at home instead of being institutionalized.