Medicaid

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Medicaid/CHIP Monthly Enrollment Tracker

Medicaid enrollment declined by 5 million people (6%) from May 2025 through May 2026. Child enrollment in Medicaid and CHIP declined in 49 states and DC, and adult enrollment dropped in all but five states (IA, MO, NC, OK, SD). KFF's tracker presents the most recent Medicaid enrollment data by month and state.

Medicaid work requirements

Medicaid and the Road Ahead: Spending Cuts, Work Requirements and What’s Next for States, Providers and Families

Event Date:

Passed last year, President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act made significant changes to Medicaid—the primary insurance provider for health and long-term care for people with low incomes. These changes are expected to lead to coverage loss for many current enrollees and will reduce funding for Medicaid, placing new financial pressures on states and health care providers. On July 23, KFF and States Newsroom hosted an event focused on the impacts of work requirements and other federal policy changes on states, health care systems, and people.

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 describes states’ current provider taxes and explores how rules governing provider taxes are changing.

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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  • State Fiscal Conditions and Medicaid Program Changes, FY 2012-2013

    Fact Sheet

    The Medicaid program provides health and long-term care coverage for low-income families who lack access to other affordable coverage options and for individuals with disabilities for whom private coverage is often not available or inadequate. Medicaid also plays a pivotal role in state budgets, both as an expenditure and a source of federal revenues. This fact sheet provides a brief overview of Medicaid’s role in state budgets, the impact of the recession, current fiscal conditions,…

  • Governors’ Budgets for FY 2013 — What is Proposed for Medicaid?

    Issue Brief

    This report provides Medicaid highlights from governors' proposed state budgets for FY 2013, which starts July 1, 2012 for most states. While some states are beginning to see signs of economic recovery, many remain cautiously optimistic as they continue to experience the recession's lingering effects. State revenues have not rebounded to pre-recession levels, unemployment rates are still high, and some states continue to face budget shortfalls. There continues to be high demand for Medicaid and…

  • The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief provides a brief overview of the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act, including a discussion of how the program would be financed and whom it is intended to reach. The paper was released as part of a Kaiser briefing about the act, a component of two leading health reform bills that would establish a national voluntary insurance program to allow for voluntary pre-financing of long-term care through payroll deductions and…

  • A Historical Review of How States Have Responded to the Availability of Federal Funds for Health Coverage

    Issue Brief

    This historical review finds that the availability of federal funds has served as an effective incentive for states to provide health coverage to meet the health and long-term care needs of their low-income residents despite state budget pressures. The brief examines the history of earlier experiences and provides important context for how states may respond as they weigh the costs and benefits of expanding their Medicaid programs in 2014 as called for under the Affordable…

  • Secrets to Success: An Analysis of Four States at the Forefront of the Nation’s Gains in Children’s Health Coverage

    Issue Brief

    This analysis, based on site visits and interviews with key stakeholders, examines the experiences of Alabama, Iowa, Massachusetts and Oregon in significantly improving health coverage of children in recent years through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program. Several common themes underlie these states' successful efforts: At least one state political leader made coverage of children a top priority. All four states have expanded eligibility for children to 300 percent of poverty and have streamlined…

  • Performing Under Pressure: Annual Findings of a 50-State Survey of Eligibility, Enrollment, Renewal, and Cost-Sharing Policies in Medicaid and CHIP, 2011-2012

    Report

    The annual 50-state survey of Medicaid and CHIP eligibility rules, enrollment and renewal procedures and cost-sharing practices, conducted by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured with the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, found that, despite continued fiscal pressures on states, eligibility policies remained stable in nearly all state Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Programs during 2011. Moreover, many states used technology to increase program efficiency and streamline enrollment. The "maintenance of…

  • Five Key Questions About Medicaid And Its Role in State/Federal Budgets and Health Reform

    Report

    This fact sheet highlights key issues about Medicaid, including the structure, financing and purpose of the program, its role for low-income beneficiaries, its share of the federal budget and state budgets, and the significant implications of the coverage expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Fact Sheet (.pdf) Related chartpack: Five Key Questions And Answers About Medicaid

  • Explaining Health Reform: Building Enrollment Systems That Meet The Expectations of the Affordable Care Act

    Issue Brief

    The new health reform law will require most U.S. citizens and legal residents to have health coverage by 2014. It provides new options for coverage by expanding Medicaid eligibility to more low-income people and creating a state-based system of health insurance Exchanges through which individuals can purchase coverage, with federal subsidies for many. The success of the law in achieving near-universal health coverage will depend on the effectiveness of the enrollment and renewal processes that…

  • The Public’s Health Care Agenda for the New President and Congress

    Poll Finding

      The Public's Health Care Agenda for the New President and Congress This survey captures the public's attitudes regarding the health care agenda for President Obama and the new Congress in 2009. It assesses the relative priority placed on health care by the American public as part of addressing the economic recession and as a large scale reform issue. The public's priorities for health care reform and their views on a range of other health…