Working with the Department of Medicaid Assistance Services, Governor Northam is increasing access to healthcare for Virginia’s 1.5 million Medicaid members and thousands of low-income residents. These actions include:

• Eliminating all co-payments for services covered by Medicaid and Family Access to Medical Insurance Security (FAMIS), including COVID-19-related treatment as well as other medical care.
• Ensuring current Medicaid members do not inadvertently lose coverage due to lapses in paperwork or a change in circumstances.
• Permitting Medicaid members to obtain a 90-day supply of many routine prescriptions, an increase from the 30-day supply under previous rules.
• Waiving pre-approval requirements for many critical medical services, and enacting automatic extensions for approvals that are already in place.
• Expanding access to telehealth services, including allowing Medicaid reimbursement for providers who use telehealth with patients in the home.

• The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) is loosening income eligibility requirements for the Emergency Food Assistance Program to increase access during the COVID-19 outbreak.
• VDACS is also reducing the threat of exposure for seniors in the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) by changing delivery schedules—while maintaining the quantity of food—and removing delivery signing requirements.
• The Federation of Virginia Food Banks, representing seven regional food banks, is standardizing low- and no-touch distribution, pre-boxed items, and drive-through distribution mechanisms.