Eligibility - Research and Data from KFF

Lowering the Age of Medicare Eligibility to 60 Could Reduce the Cost of Health Care and Have a Modest Effect on the Number of People Who Are Uninsured

May 21, 2021

News Release

A new KFF analysis shows that lowering the age of Medicare eligibility to 60 could improve the affordability of coverage for people who are already insured and expand coverage to over a million of the nation’s 30 million uninsured. Such a policy could provide a path to Medicare coverage for up to 11.7 million people with employer-based insurance and 2.4 million with private, non-group coverage who are ages 60 to 64, although it is unclear…

Expanding Medicare to Adults at Age 60 Years—Medicare-for-More?

May 27, 2021

Perspective

In this column for the JAMA Health Forum, Larry Levitt examines the implications of lowering Medicare’s age of eligibility, which is emerging as a potential pathway toward Medicare-for-all or a public option among single-payer advocates. He explores the implications for costs, industry, people and broader reform efforts.

States Sue CMS Over Medicaid Work Requirements Rule, Citing Departure from Earlier Guidance on Medical Frailty

Jun 30, 2026

Quick Insights

Less than a month after CMS released its interim final rule on Medicaid work requirements, 24 states, including DC, sued the Trump administration over its interpretation of the 2025 reconciliation law’s requirements — including most notably the medical frailty exemption.

Medicaid Work Requirements: Current Waiver and Legislative Activity

Nov 21, 2024

Issue Brief

With Donald Trump returning to the presidency and Republican control of the Senate and House, work requirements are likely to be back on the agenda—through federal legislation or Medicaid waivers. This issue brief highlights the history of Medicaid work requirements, describes recent state activity to advance work requirement policies, and recaps the landscape of work requirement approvals and pending requests at the end of President Trump’s first term.

The Medical Frailty Exemption from Medicaid Work Requirements: Key Takeaways from the CMS Interim Final Rule

Jun 23, 2026

Issue Brief

This brief describes new guidance and potential challenges states will face in operationalizing the medical frailty exemption.

Medical Frailty and Medicaid Work Requirements: Challenges for People with HIV

Jul 1, 2026

Policy Watch

This analysis examines Medicaid work requirements and the implementation of medical frailty exclusions for people with HIV in light of CMS's implementing regulation.

A Look at the Medicaid Payment Error Rate Measurement (PERM) Program and Upcoming Changes and Impacts

Feb 13, 2026

Issue Brief

The PERM program measures improper payments in Medicaid through cyclical audits of state Medicaid programs. This brief explains the PERM program and its three component error rates as well as upcoming changes to PERM and possible state impacts.

Challenges with Implementing Work Requirements: Findings from a Survey of State Medicaid Programs

Oct 31, 2025

Issue Brief

To better understand how states are preparing for Medicaid work requirements, states were asked to discuss anticipated challenges to implementing work requirements by the end of 2026, including related system changes and data matching.

Performance Measurement Under Health Reform: Proposed Measures For Eligibility and Enrollment Systems and Key Issues and Trade-offs to Consider

Dec 1, 2011

Issue Brief

The adoption of new eligibility and enrollment requirements under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides states and the federal government an important opportunity to implement a meaningful set of performance measures for eligibility and enrollment systems. Performance measures could be used at the federal level to assess state performance in meeting the ACA’s eligibility and enrollment goals, while states could use measures for program management and quality improvement. This brief seeks to inform the development…

Optimizing Medicaid Enrollment: Spotlight on Technology

Jul 30, 2010

Report

The health reform law provides for a national expansion of Medicaid in 2014 that will extend eligibility to millions more low-income people, primarily uninsured adults. It also requires implementation of a coordinated system for determining eligibility for Medicaid and subsidized coverage in the new health insurance exchanges. Given the expected new demands on Medicaid eligibility and enrollment systems, and continuing fiscal strains on states, the impetus to streamline and automate Medicaid systems has never been…

Topics

Policy Research

Polling

Health News

Data & Features

For Media

About

View the Latest: Eligibility

Filter