Medicaid “Mandatory” and “Optional” Eligibility and Benefits
This brief describes the current structure of the Medicaid program and provides information on coverage and spending by mandatory and optional groups.
The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
KFF’s policy research provides facts and analysis on a wide range of policy issues and public programs.
KFF designs, conducts and analyzes original public opinion and survey research on Americans’ attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with the health care system to help amplify the public’s voice in major national debates.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the organization’s core operating programs.
This brief describes the current structure of the Medicaid program and provides information on coverage and spending by mandatory and optional groups.
The fourth in a series of reports on implementation issues and challenges in the first year of S-CHIP finds that states have been able to enter arrangements with plans for their S-CHIP population fairly easily. REPORT Download
Federal and state policymakers face a major challenge in addressing the health needs of an increasingly diverse population. That challenge can be even greater in the growing number of cities and states with large immigrant communities. In a Commission-sponsored conference call on May 15, experts on immigrant health issues discussed recent findings about how the health system is and is not working for immigrants and their potential policy implications. Audio from the conference call is…
Medicaid's Disabled Population and Managed Care This fact sheet highlights the key facts about the Medicaid managed care programs that serve persons with disabilities. It describes the Medicaid disabled population and the role managed care plays in serving them. It also provides information on enrollment in managed care, program features, and issues such as quality assurance, rate setting, and benefits. Fact Sheet
A new Commission report of state experiences after eliminating the Medicaid asset test reveals that the action cut administrative costs, improved program efficiency, and increased access to health care.
Americans aren't thinking a lot about the poor these days. A new survey by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government found that only about one in 10 Americans names poverty, welfare, or something similar as one of the two top issues government should address. Nevertheless, when they are asked about it directly, most Americans think that poverty is still a problem in this country, even in these generally prosperous…
Summarizes the number of uninsured individuals in rural America, who they are, and the barriers to coverage they experience. Fact Sheet
New and recent publications on immigrant health policy explore some of the complex problems the country faces in expanding health coverage to immigrants and provide basic statistics and facts on the current status of their health care. News Release: Recent Immigrants Have Had Little Impact on the Growth in America's Uninsured Population Issue Paper: Is Immigration Responsible for the Growth in the Number of the Uninsured? Fact Sheet: Immigrants' Health Care Coverage and Access Chart…
Complements the Medicaid primer by providing basic information and statistics about the program through a series of charts. Chart Pack
Over half a million duals were enrolled in Medicaid managed care programs in 1999. This report summarizes these efforts across the nation and profiles initiatives in each state. Background Paper
© 2026 KFF