Home Medicaid Topics

Medicaid

new and noteworthy

Spending on Medicaid State Directed Payments Before New Limits Take Effect

Forty states and DC currently receive $93 billion in annual federal Medicaid spending through state directed payments (SDPs) and may be at risk due to forthcoming limits on these payments, according to new KFF estimates. Annual federal spending on SDPs is highest in California (an estimated $10.6 billion)—followed by Texas ($6.3 billion), North Carolina ($5.2 billion), and Illinois ($5.1 billion).

Forthcoming Policy Changes to Medicaid State Directed Payments

Changes to Medicaid State Directed Payments

The 2025 reconciliation law cut federal Medicaid spending by an estimated $911 billion from 2025 through 2034, some of which stems from new restrictions on Medicaid state directed payments (SDPs) for hospital and other health care services. This issue brief describes SDPs and forthcoming policy changes stemming from the 2025 law and the proposed regulation to implement those requirements and make other changes.

Medicaid Work RequiremEnts

Tracking the 2025 Reconciliation Law’s 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.

Latest News

More KFF Health News

Stay informed.

Get KFF's latest on Medicaid

https://js.hsforms.net/forms/embed/292449.js

Stay informed.

Get KFF's latest on Medicaid

https://js.hsforms.net/forms/embed/292449.js

View the Latest: Medicaid

Filter

List Grid

1,941 - 1,950 of 2,716 Results

  • A Court Ruling Striking Down the ACA Would Eliminate the Medicaid Expansion and Cause Millions of Low-Income People to Become Uninsured

    News Release

    Millions of low-income Americans currently covered by Medicaid likely would become uninsured if the Supreme Court were to strike down the Affordable Care Act in California v. Texas, a legal challenge the high court is scheduled to hear in early November, KFF experts explain in a new Policy Watch post. Overturning the ACA would eliminate the expansion of Medicaid, which largely has been financed by the federal government, and eliminate eligibility for Medicaid for low-income…

  • Medicaid Enrollment & Spending Growth: FY 2020 & 2021

    Issue Brief

    This brief analyzes Medicaid enrollment and spending trends for FY 2020 and FY 2021 based on data provided by state Medicaid directors as part of the 20th annual survey of Medicaid directors in states across the country and the District of Columbia. After relatively flat enrollment growth in FY 2020, states responding to the survey expect Medicaid enrollment to jump in FY 2021, attributed to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act “maintenance of eligibility” (MOE)…

  • Health Care and the 2020 Presidential Election

    Feature

    This side-by-side comparison examines President Trump’s record and former Vice President Biden’s positions across a wide range of key health issues, including the response to the pandemic, the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Medicaid, Medicare, drug prices, reproductive health, mental health and opioids, immigration and health coverage, and health care costs.

  • State Actions to Sustain Medicaid Long-Term Services and Supports During COVID-19

    Issue Brief

    As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, states have taken a number of Medicaid policy actions to address the impact on seniors and people with disabilities, many of whom rely on long-term services and supports (LTSS) to meet daily needs and are at increased risk of adverse health outcomes if infected with coronavirus.

  • COVID-19 Outbreaks in Long-Term Care Facilities Were Most Severe in the Early Months of the Pandemic, but Data Show Cases and Deaths in Such Facilities May Be On the Rise Again

    News Release

    The rate of new COVID-19 cases and deaths in long-term care facilities declined markedly in May and June after the novel coronavirus swept through nursing homes in April, but recent data show the incidence may be on the rise again, according to a new KFF analysis. A second new analysis from KFF examines the impact of COVID-19 on assisted living facilities, a type of long-term care facility that, unlike nursing homes, is not federally regulated,…

  • Racial and Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Cases and Deaths in Nursing Homes

    Issue Brief

    This data note presents national data that shows that nursing homes with a high share of Black or Hispanic residents were more likely to have at least one coronavirus case, at least one COVID-19 death, and (among facilities with cases) more severe case outbreaks than facilities with a low share of Black or Hispanic residents. This piece also includes state-level data from 21 states where a sufficient sample of facilities with a high share of…

  • The COVID-19 Pandemic Has Taken a Higher Toll on Nursing Homes with Relatively High Shares of Black or Hispanic Residents

    News Release

    Nursing homes with a relatively high share of Black or Hispanic residents are more likely to have had a resident die of COVID-19 than homes with lower shares of such residents, finds a new KFF analysis. Nationwide, 63 percent of nursing homes with a relatively high share of Black residents reported one or more COVID-19 death, as did 55 percent of nursing homes with a relatively high share of Hispanic residents, finds the analysis. That…

  • Federal Medicaid Outlays During the COVID-19 Pandemic

    Issue Brief

    This data note analyzes federal Medicaid outlays before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the one year since the onset of the pandemic, federal Medicaid outlays totaled $500.8 billion and grew by 19.5%, compared to 6.3% growth in the one year before the pandemic.

  • Impact of Coronavirus on Community Health Centers

    Issue Brief

    Community health centers are a national network of safety net primary care providers that fill an important role in national, state, and local responses to the coronavirus pandemic. This brief presents findings from new data that provide insights into how health centers are adapting their services in response to the pandemic and how coronavirus is affecting their operations and long-term financial outlook with patient visits and revenue from those visits dropping precipitously.