Medicaid

new and noteworthy

An Early Look at States’ Differing Approaches to Implementing Medicaid Work Requirements Amid Cost and Time Constraints and Uncertainty

A new KFF survey of state Medicaid officials and focus groups in eight states captures the different choices states are making about how to implement Medicaid work requirements, with seven states planning for a more restrictive approach to verifying work or exemption status or to implement work requirements early. These implementation plans are taking shape as states encounter time, cost, and other constraints as well as uncertainty about how to define and verify certain exemptions due to delayed federal guidance.

Medicaid Work Requirements

Tracking Medicaid Work Requirements: Data and Policies

To implement Medicaid work requirements, states will need to make important policy and operational decisions, implement needed system upgrades or changes, develop new outreach and education strategies, and hire and train staff, all within a relatively short timeframe. The information tracked here can serve as a resource to understand Medicaid work requirements and state options, gauge readiness, and track implementation of the requirements.

understanding medicaid

Medicaid Financing

Medicaid represents $1 out of every $5 spent on health care in the U.S. and is the major source of financing for states to provide health coverage and long-term care. This brief examines key questions about Medicaid financing and how it works.

Medicaid Program Integrity

This brief explains what is known about improper payments and fraud and abuse in Medicaid and describes ongoing state and federal actions to address program integrity.

Medicaid and Provider Taxes

All states except Alaska cover some state Medicaid costs with taxes on health care providers. This brief uses data from KFF’s 2024-2025 survey of Medicaid directors to describe current practices and the federal rules governing them.

Medicaid and Hospitals

Absorbing reductions in Medicaid spending could be challenging for hospitals, particularly for those that are financially vulnerable. This brief provides data on the reach of Medicaid across hospitals, patients, and charity care.

Medicaid Home Care

This issue brief provides an overview of what Medicaid home care (also known as “home- and community-based services”) is, who is covered, and what services were available in 2025.

Subscribe to KFF Emails

Choose which emails are best for you.
Sign up here

Filter

11 - 20 of 2,696 Results

  • Key Questions About the New Medicaid Eligibility Pathway for Uninsured Coronavirus Testing

    Issue Brief

    In response to the need to increase access to testing during the COVID-19 pandemic, recent federal legislation, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, amended by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, creates a new optional Medicaid eligibility pathway, with 100% federal matching funds, for states to cover coronavirus testing and testing-related services for uninsured individuals. This new option is available from March 18, 2020 through the end of the public health emergency period.…

  • Key Questions About the New Increase in Federal Medicaid Matching Funds for COVID-19

    Issue Brief

    Recent federal legislation, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, amended by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, authorizes a 6.2 percentage point increase in federal Medicaid matching funds to help states respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. This issue brief answers key questions about the new federal funds, drawing on two sets of frequently asked questions about the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and CARES Act issued by the Centers for Medicare and…

  • KFF/EHF Poll: Texans’ Top State Health Priorities Include Lowering Out-of-Pocket Costs and Reducing Maternal Mortality

    News Release

    Most Texans Don’t Know their State has the Nation’s Highest Uninsured Rate Texans’ top health care priorities for the state revolve around making health care and prescription drugs more affordable, reducing maternal mortality and increasing access to health insurance coverage, finds a new statewide Kaiser Family Foundation/Episcopal Health Foundation survey on Texas health policy issues. Majorities say “top priority” should be given to lowering what people pay for health care (61%), reducing maternal mortality (59%),…

  • Texas Residents’ Views on State and National Health Policy Priorities

    Report

    As part of the new Kaiser Family Foundation/Episcopal Health Foundation 2018 Texas Health Policy Survey, this brief explores Texans’ views on health policy priorities at both the state and national level. It examines how Texas residents view state spending on health care and how they rank initiatives such as lowering health care costs, reducing maternal mortality, and funding for mental health care. It also explores Texans’ views on the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid, including…

  • Nearly 20 Million Children Live in Immigrant Families that Could Be Affected by Evolving Immigration Policies

    Issue Brief

    President Trump has intensified national debate about immigration by implementing policies to enhance immigration enforcement and restrict legal immigration. Recent findings show that the climate surrounding these policies has significantly increased fear and uncertainty among immigrant families, broadly affecting families across different immigration statuses and locations. The effects extend to lawfully present immigrants, including lawful permanent residents or “green card” holders, and children in immigrant families, who are predominantly U.S.-born citizens. In particular, findings point…

  • Putting Medicaid in the Larger Budget Context: An In-Depth Look at Three States in FY 2015 and 2016

    Issue Brief

    This report provides an in-depth examination of Medicaid program changes in the larger context of state budgets in three states: Alaska, California, and Tennessee. These case studies build on findings from the 15th annual budget survey of Medicaid officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia conducted by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured and Health Management Associates (HMA).

  • Data Note: Abbreviated January 2016 Health Tracking Poll Topline

    Feature

    This is an abbreviated topline for the upcoming January 2016 Kaiser Health Tracking Poll.  It contains the survey questions addressed in Drew Altman's column, "Candidate Policy Plans Resonate More With Democrats. Here’s Why," for The Wall Street Journal's Think Tank. DATA NOTE Download

  • Half of Kentucky Residents Hold Unfavorable Views of the Affordable Care Act, But Seven in Ten, Including Most Republicans, Don’t Want to Scale Back Medicaid Expansion to Cover Fewer People

    News Release

    Half of Residents Want to Keep the State's Insurance Marketplace Kynect, While a Quarter Favor Switching to Federal Healthcare.Gov Marketplace Instead Many Believe Coverage Expansions Have a Negative Impact on the State’s Budget A Kaiser Family Foundation poll of Kentucky residents finds that after much discussion of the issue in the state, health care is the top issue residents want state lawmakers to address, and a strong majority opposes scaling back the state's Medicaid expansion…

  • Medicaid Coverage of Pregnancy and Perinatal Benefits: Results from a State Survey

    Report

    This report details findings from a state survey on perinatal benefits in place as of July 1, 2015 for women enrolled in fee-for-service Medicaid through different eligibility pathways, including traditional pre-ACA Medicaid pathways, expansion, and pregnancy-related eligibility for the following services: basic prenatal care, counseling and support services, delivery and postpartum care, and breastfeeding supports.