Medicaid

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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.

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  • Poll: Nearly Half of the Public Say They or a Family Member Skipped or Delayed Care Due to Coronavirus, But Most Plan to Get Care in the Coming Months

    News Release

    Nearly One in Four Expect a Family Member to Turn to Medicaid in the Coming Year, and Majorities across Party Lines Oppose Medicaid Cuts to Address State Budget Shortfalls Amid the threat of coronavirus, nearly half (48%) of Americans say someone in their family has skipped or delayed getting some type of medical care due to the pandemic, the latest KFF Health Tracking Poll finds. This includes 11% who say the person’s condition worsened due…

  • Options to Support Medicaid Providers in Response to COVID-19

    Issue Brief

    This brief provides an overview of how states currently reimburse providers and the challenges for Medicaid providers that have emerged from the pandemic and state budget issues. It presents new data on state actions to date to help bolster Medicaid providers dealing with the effects of COVID-19 and discusses support available for Medicaid providers from the federal provider relief fund.

  • States Can Use Policy Actions to Mitigate Risk and Spread of Coronavirus in Jails and Prisons

    News Release

    As more coronavirus cases and deaths are confirmed in jails and prisons, states can utilize programs and other policy actions to mitigate the risk and spread of the disease within facilities and the broader communities in which they are located, according to a new issue brief from KFF. More than two million individuals are incarcerated in prison or jail each year, while millions more move into and out of incarceration over the course of the…

  • Two Medicaid-Related Initiatives That Help Promote Long-Term Care at Home and in the Community, Rather Than in Institutions, Are Set To Expire at the End of December

    News Release

    Two initiatives that for years have helped shift Medicaid enrollees away from nursing homes in favor of long-term care at home and in the community face year-end deadlines that could undercut that trend, according to two new KFF issue briefs. While there does not appear to be substantive disagreement over the initiatives like there is with many other federal health programs, their expiration is coming at a time when Congress is engaged in a contentious…

  • What Drives Spending and Utilization on Medicaid Drug Benefits in States?

    Issue Brief

    With the approval of new specialty drugs, such as the Hepatitis C treatments Sovaldi and Harvoni, states are mindful that the cost the Medicaid prescription drug benefit could increase. To achieve savings, and improve management and health outcomes, it is important to understand which drugs are most frequently prescribed and which drive spending. Using state drug utilization data provided through the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program, as well as an industry drug database, this issue brief…

  • Medicaid Spending Growth Compared to Other Payers: A Look at the Evidence

    Issue Brief

    A number of studies have demonstrated that Medicaid coverage helps to improve receipt of preventive health care, access to care, and out-of-pocket spending burdens and other financial outcomes. However, given ongoing concerns about federal and state budgets, the costs of the Medicaid program are likely to be again at the forefront of state and federal policy discussions. As federal policy makers consider proposals to reform Medicaid financing, this issue brief examines evidence from over 40…