Medicaid

Medicaid work requirements

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

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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.

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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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  • Coverage of Preventive Services for Adults in Medicaid

    Issue Brief

    This brief highlights data from a survey of coverage of 42 recommended preventive services for adults in Medicaid fee-for-service programs as of October 2010. Medicaid programs must cover preventive services for children as part of the Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) benefit, but generally are not required to cover such services for adults. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides states the opportunity to earn a one percentage point increase in their federal matching…

  • Why Does Medicaid Spending Vary Across States: A Chartbook of Factors Driving State Spending

    Report

    This detailed chartbook provides an illustrative overview of some of the key factors that contribute to the substantial variation in Medicaid spending across states today. The chartbook provides a broad range of state-by-state data on subjects including state revenue and spending, the demand for public services, health care markets, and state Medicaid policy choices. Understanding this variation can be important for assessing state fiscal issues, the differences across states and their implications for federal and…

  • Long-Term Care:  Understanding Medicaid’s Role for the Elderly and Disabled

    Issue Brief

    Long-Term Care: Understanding Medicaid’s Role for the Elderly and Disabled This updated report provides a review of how Medicaid works for people with long-term care needs and describes the fiscal challenges that states currently face and that Medicaid may face in the future as the population ages. Report (.pdf) Executive Summary (.pdf)

  • New Kaiser Resources Examine Medicaid as a Platform for Health Reform

    Issue Brief

    These related research papers examine the policy opportunities for expanding Medicaid to cover more low-income and high-need people in ways that would enable the program to serve as a platform for larger national health reform efforts. As congressional leaders work on proposals for universal coverage, some policymakers have suggested that strengthening Medicaid’s coverage of the poorest Americans and those with special health needs could provide a base for broader health reform efforts to expand coverage,…

  • Pulling it Together: Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks

    Perspective

    Way back in the eighties when I was Human Services Commissioner in New Jersey, I established something called the Garden State Health Plan (GSHP).  It was the first — and I think the only — federally qualified state-run HMO for Medicaid beneficiaries.  One goal of the GSHP was to reallocate the Medicaid dollar, giving more to primary care physicians who at the time were paid $9 for a general office visit, and a little less…

  • How Will Uninsured Children Be Affected By Health Reform?

    Issue Brief

    This brief examines uninsured children and how they could be affected by health reform, including estimates of how many might qualify for coverage under a Medicaid expansion, how many would be eligible for subsidies and how many would not be eligible for such help. Issue Brief (.pdf)

  • Pulling It Together: Predicting the Future

    Perspective

    A fair amount of attention was given recently to projections made by the Chief Actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) about the new health reform law, and how they compare to previous estimates by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). No doubt the various projections will be grist for claims made in the upcoming political season, so it is important to be clear about the differences between the two estimates and to…

  • Hispanics and the New Medicare Drug Benefit

    Poll Finding

    In a few short weeks, Medicare will undergo big changes that will have a major impact on more than 3 million Hispanic seniors and younger people with permanent disabilities who rely on Medicare for their health coverage. More than one in three Hispanics with Medicare lack coverage for their prescription drugs for at least part of the year. Many others will need to make decisions about their existing coverage and the new Medicare benefit. Starting…

  • Special Needs Plans: Availability and Enrollment

    Report

    Special Needs Plans are a form of Medicare Advantage plan authorized to provide a managed care option for beneficiaries with significant or relatively specialized care needs, including Medicare beneficiaries who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, beneficiaries living in nursing homes or other institutions, and beneficiaries with severe chronic or disabling conditions. This data spotlight examines availability and enrollment trends for Special Needs Plans, which account for a small share of enrollment today but…

  • The Role of Clinical and Cost Information in Medicaid Pharmacy Benefit Decisions: Experience in Seven States

    Issue Brief

    This policy brief provides perspective on the potential for using comparative effectiveness research in Medicaid pharmacy programs by looking at seven states to determine how they currently evaluate relative clinical and cost information about prescription drugs when making coverage decisions for their Medicaid pharmacy benefits. The brief was prepared by researchers at the Foundation's Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured and Avalere Health. Policy Brief (.pdf)