View the Latest: Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
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Proposed Changes to Demographic Data Collection in the Census Could Impact Efforts to Address Health and Health Care Disparities
Issue BriefThis issue brief provides an overview of the decennial census and discusses potential implications of the changes outlined in a September 2026 proposed rule to prohibit the collection of race and ethnicity data on the census and exclude many noncitizen immigrants from the apportionment count.
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Implementation of Medicaid Immigrant Eligibility Restrictions Under the 2025 Reconciliation Law: Issues to Consider
Issue BriefThe 2025 reconciliation law includes new eligibility restrictions for many lawfully present immigrants for Medicaid and CHIP that become effective October 1, 2026. This brief provides an overview of implementation of the immigrant eligibility changes based on CMS guidance and issues to consider for affected individuals and states.
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New Guidance on Public Charge Determinations Does Not Specify Key Concepts, Likely Resulting in Immigrant Families Facing Ongoing Confusion and Fear
Quick InsightsWhile the DHS guidance provides more details on public charge determinations under the new rule, it leaves key concepts unspecified and grants substantial discretion to individual immigration officers. This will likely result in ongoing confusion and fear among immigrant families that may deter them and their citizen children from participating in programs that help pay for health care, housing, or food even if they are eligible.
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Optional Medicaid and CHIP Coverage for Lawfully Present Immigrant Children Could Mitigate Coverage Losses Due to 2025 Reconciliation Law
Issue BriefThis brief provides an overview of health coverage of noncitizen children to provide greater insight into the potential role of Immigrant Children’s Health Improvement Act (ICHIA) coverage in limiting the 2025 reconciliation law's impact on coverage for lawfully present immigrant children.
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New Regulation Prohibits Federal Medicaid Funds From Covering Gender-Affirming Medical Care for Young People
Quick InsightsIf states do not provide coverage with state-only dollars and [gender-affirming] care cannot be financed in other ways, thousands of young people could be without a way to access what remains a recommended medical intervention.
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New Public Charge Policies Will Likely Lead to Decreased Enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP
Quick InsightsBetween 1.4 to 4.1 million Medicaid and CHIP enrollees living in a household with a noncitizen could disenroll due to public charge and other immigration-related fears.
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Key Facts about the Uninsured Population
Issue BriefThe number and share of people without insurance grew in 2024, increasing for the first time since 2019, according to KFF's analysis of data from the American Community Survey (ACS). This issue brief describes trends in health coverage in 2024, examines the characteristics of the uninsured population , and summarizes the access and financial implications of not having coverage.
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Child Enrollment in Medicaid/CHIP Dropped Below Pre-Pandemic Levels for the First Time
Quick InsightsIn February 2026, there were 345,000 fewer children enrolled in Medicaid/the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) compared to before the start of the pandemic in February 2020, a 1% decline, according to the latest data from CMS.
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State Health Coverage for Immigrants and Implications for Health Coverage and Care
Issue BriefNoncitizen immigrants, particularly those who are undocumented, face significant barriers to accessing health coverage and care and are significantly more likely than citizens to be uninsured. This brief provides an overview of state health coverage programs for immigrants, including among states that have taken up options in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to expand coverage for lawfully present immigrants and/or established fully state-funded programs to fill gaps in coverage for immigrants.