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The health and economic effects of the pandemic have significant implications for state Medicaid programs, as more people become eligible and enroll in Medicaid at the same time that states may face declines in revenues. This brief presents current data for key economic indicators to help understand how they could affect Medicaid enrollment and spending.
The American Rescue Plan Act, the COVID-19 relief package that became law on March 11, 2021, contains a number of provisions designed to increase coverage, expand benefits, and adjust federal financing for state Medicaid programs. These provisions are briefly described below and summarized in Table 1. Separate briefs summarize provisions in the new law relating to the Marketplaces and public health.
During the pandemic many states have experienced worsening direct care workforce shortages that have affected providers of home- and community-based long-term care services (HCBS), according to early findings of a new KFF survey of Medicaid HCBS programs in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Most states reported workforce shortages as the pandemic’s primary impact on HCBS provided in an enrollee’s home and in group homes. The pandemic has brought new attention among policymakers…
The U.S territories – American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) – have faced an array of longstanding fiscal and health challenges that were exacerbated by recent natural disasters and most recently by the COVID-19 pandemic. Differences in Medicaid financing, including a statutory cap and match rate, have contributed to broader fiscal and health systems challenges for the territories. Congress is currently debating…
This issue brief analyzes enrollment and spending trends related to the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion ahead of the coronavirus pandemic and examines potential consequences of recent enrollment increases.
This report examines a new measure of Medicare’s financial health established by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA). The report, authored by Marilyn Moon, takes an in-depth look at the program’s new solvency test, which measures general revenues as a share of total Medicare spending and can trigger a “funding warning” that compels the President to propose and the Congress to consider a funding warning.
This report provides estimates of spending for uncompensated care, in 2013, just before implementation of health reform’s major coverage provisions. The report estimates the amount of uncompensated care provided, analyzes the site of care for uncompensated services, and details sources of funding for uncompensated care. These estimates provide an important baseline against which to measure major changes that are occurring under the ACA.
In February 2022, the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) and Health Management Associates (HMA) fielded a rapid, mini-survey of Medicaid directors in all 50 states and the District of Columbia as a follow-up to the annual Medicaid Budget Survey conducted in summer 2021. This brief explores Medicaid enrollment and spending growth estimates for FY 2022 and projections for FY 2023, as reported by state Medicaid directors.
As some policymakers in Washington are pushing to reduce the federal deficit and debt, a new KFF resource provides a concise explanation of federal spending for domestic and global health programs and services, which could be part of any conversation about curbing federal spending. Federal spending on health programs and services accounted for 30 percent of net federal spending in fiscal year 2022 -- or $1.7 trillion out of a total of $5.9 trillion. Specifically,…
The Build Back Better (BBB) Act proposes reducing disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments by 12.5% starting in federal fiscal year (FFY) 2023 and places limits on Medicaid uncompensated care (UCC) pools for non-expansion states. This policy watch explains what these payments are, what changes have been tied to the ACA, and examines potential implications of changes included in the BBB.
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