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Medicaid coverage of acute and long-term care for more than 6 million low-income seniors and 10 million nonelderly people with disabilities accounts for nearly two-thirds of overall Medicaid spending, although such enrollees represent less than a quarter of people on Medicaid.  Much of Medicaid’s spending on seniors and people with…

Nationwide, nearly two million people in rural areas in Medicaid expansion states gained insurance coverage between 2013 and 2015.

In this brief, the Kaiser Family Foundation outlines 10 ways women could be affected under the House of Representatives’ American Health Care Act. In particular, the brief analyzes how changes might affect Medicaid and its expansion population, financial assistance in the individual insurance market, coverage for essential health benefits and preventive services such as contraception, abortion, and maternity care, as well as insurance reforms such as gender rating.

Medicaid is the nation’s public health insurance program for people with low income. The Medicaid program covers 1 in 5 low-income Americans, including many with complex and costly needs for care. The vast majority of Medicaid enrollees lack access to other affordable health insurance. Medicaid covers a broad array of health services and limits enrollee out-of-pocket costs. The program is also the principal source of long-term care coverage for Americans. Medicaid finances nearly a fifth of all personal health care spending in the U.S., providing significant financing for hospitals, community health centers, physicians, nursing homes, and jobs in the health care sector. Title XIX of the Social Security Act and a large body of federal regulations govern the program, defining federal Medicaid requirements and state options and authorities. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is responsible for implementing Medicaid.

This brief reviews the role of these public programs and providers in financing care and enabling access to family planning services, and addresses the impact of actions taken by President Trump and Congress to block federal funds from Planned Parenthood and other entities that provide abortion.

About 70% of all office-based physicians accept new Medicaid patients, including two-thirds of primary care physicians and close to three-quarters (72%) of specialists. The percentage of physicians accepting new Medicaid patients varies widely by state, ranging from 39% to 97%. In one-quarter of states, more than 85% of physicians accept new Medicaid patients, including 10 states where at least 90% do. There is no evidence that physician participation in Medicaid is declining.

While the future of legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and make fundamental changes to the structure and funding of the Medicaid program is uncertain, states and the Administration may achieve major changes to Medicaid through the use of Section 1115 Medicaid waivers. Wisconsin submitted a waiver amendment request to CMS in June 2017 and Maine submitted a waiver application to CMS in August 2017. Unlike previous waivers that encompass the ACA’s Medicaid expansion, Wisconsin and Maine are seeking waiver authority to make significant changes to Medicaid that would affect non-expansion Medicaid populations.

A new issue brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation highlights proposed changes to Medicaid programs in Wisconsin and Maine that include work requirements and time limits in both states, as well as drug screenings for some beneficiaries in Wisconsin. The waiver authority sought by both states would impose welfare-like restrictions…