How Medicaid Cuts Will Harm Students & Schools

Nationwide survey of school district leaders points to reductions in health services and staff and increased taxes if Congress cuts Medicaid

Medicaid is the fourth largest federal funding source for K-12 schools, supporting over $7.5 billion of school-based health services every year.

If Congress cuts Medicaid, states — and school districts — will receive less funding. This will force states and local communities to increase taxes and reduce or eliminate various programs and services, including non-Medicaid services.

Given that a strong school Medicaid program relies on a strong federal Medicaid program, Healthy Schools Campaign and its partners asked school district leaders, including superintendents, school business officials and other school health and administrative staff, to assess how reductions in federal financing would affect school health services, student resources and district funding. A total of 1,440 responses were collected from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Key Findings

How school districts use Medicaid funds:

• 86% of respondents said their district uses Medicaid funds to support salaries for school health staff and personnel such as school nurses, school psychologists, occupational and physical therapists and speech-language pathologists
• 59% use Medicaid funds for mental and behavioral health services
• 46% use Medicaid funds for assistive technology and specialized equipment for students with disabilities

45% of respondents are from rural school districts, where more children are covered by Medicaid and schools play an outsize role in providing healthcare.

How Medicaid cuts would affect school health services and staff:

• 80% of respondents expect reductions and layoffs of school health staff and personnel
• 70% expect reductions to mental and behavioral health services
• 62% expect a reduction in resources, including assistive equipment and technology for students with disabilities

90% of respondents anticipate that Medicaid cuts would lead to reductions across their district’s budget, outside of school health services.

Survey respondents overwhelmingly reported that Medicaid cuts would have a significant impact on their district budget. Overall, 73% of respondents said that school health staff and services would be reduced in three or more of the following areas.

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