Medicaid

Work Requirements

Challenges with Implementing Work Requirements

Many states are anticipating a variety of implementation challenges, including the need for complex system changes, a compressed implementation timeline, and limited staff capacity.

What is the Medicaid Hardship Exception?

The number of Medicaid expansion enrollees who ultimately qualify for the high unemployment hardship exception will depend on how the exception is implemented and how unemployment rates changes.

Tracking Implementation of the 2025 Reconciliation Law: Medicaid Work Requirements

KFF’s interactive tracks key data and policies that will affect how states implement Medicaid work requirements, which are required under the 2025 budget reconciliation law starting in January 2027. The tracker includes state-level data on Medicaid enrollment and renewal outcomes as well as current state enrollment and renewal policies.

Medicaid Budget Survey

Medicaid Home Care

Using data from the 23rd KFF survey of officials administering Medicaid home care programs, this issue brief describes the mechanisms states are currently using to limit Medicaid spending on home care and their plans for adopting new mechanisms in state fiscal year (FY) 2026.

A Look at Waiting Lists for Medicaid Home- and Community-Based Services from 2016 to 2025

This data note provides new information about waiting lists in Medicaid home care before many of the provisions in the 2025 reconciliation law go into effect. The data come from KFF’s 23rd survey on Medicaid home care programs in all 50 states and DC.

KFF regularly surveys states about their Medicaid home- and community-based services (HCBS) programs and their eligibility policies for people who are eligible for Medicaid on the basis of having a disability or being 65 and older.

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This issue brief provides an overview of what Medicaid home care (also known as “home- and community-based services” or HCBS) is, who is covered, and what services were available in 2024.

Eligibility and coverage
  • Eligibility, Enrollment, and Renewal Policies

    KFF's survey findings capture state actions that seek to improve the accuracy and efficiency of Medicaid and CHIP enrollment and renewal processes, as of January 2025.
  • Seniors and People with Disabilities

    More than 1 in 3 people with disabilities (15 million) have Medicaid (35%). In comparison, only 19% of people without disabilities have Medicaid.
  • Children with Special Needs

    Amid debates about proposed cuts to federal Medicaid spending, this brief analyzes key characteristics of children with special health care needs and explores how Medicaid provides them with coverage.
  • People With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

    Among the estimated 8 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), over three million have Medicaid coverage.
  • Adults with Chronic Conditions

    Among working age adults enrolled in Medicaid, approximately three quarters have one or more chronic conditions, and nearly one-third have three or more.

The Essentials
  • 5 Facts: Immigrants and Medicaid

    This brief provides five key facts on Medicaid and immigrants as context for understanding the potential impacts of policy changes under the Trump administration.
  • 5 Facts: Medicaid and Hospitals

    This brief explains the role of Medicaid for hospitals, including how much spending on hospital care comes from Medicaid, the share of births covered by the program, and how Medicaid expansion has impacted hospital finances.
  • Medicaid Financing: The Basics

    Medicaid is a major source of financing for states to provide health coverage and long-term services and supports for low-income residents. This brief examines key questions about Medicaid financing and how it works.
  • 5 Facts: Medicaid’s Share of National Health Spending

    This brief explores how Medicaid spending contributes to national health spending and how different service areas contribute to Medicaid costs.
  • 5 Facts: Medicaid and Nursing Facilities

    The substantial Medicaid savings in the reconciliation bill could have major implications for nearly 15,000 federally certified nursing facilities and the 1.2 million people living in them.

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  • Implications of the ACA Medicaid Expansion: A Look at the Data and Evidence

    Issue Brief

    More than four years after the implementation of the Medicaid expansion included in the Affordable Care Act, debate and controversy around the implications of the expansion continue. Despite a large body of research that shows that the Medicaid expansion results in gains in coverage, improvements in access and financial security, and economic benefits for states and providers, some argue that the Medicaid expansion has broadened the program beyond its original intent diverting spending from the “truly needy”, offers poor quality and limited access to providers, and has increased state costs. New proposals allow states to implement policies never approved before including conditioning Medicaid eligibility on work or community engagement. New complex requirements run counter to the post-ACA movement of Medicaid integration with other health programs and streamlined enrollment processes. This brief examines evidence of the effects of the Medicaid expansion and some changes being implemented through waivers. Many of the findings on the effects of expansion cited in this brief are drawn from the 202 studies included in our comprehensive literature review that includes additional citations on coverage, access, and economic effects of the Medicaid expansion.

  • Beyond Health Care: The Role of Social Determinants in Promoting Health and Health Equity

    Issue Brief

    Research demonstrates that improving population health and achieving health equity will require broad approaches that address social, economic, and environmental factors that influence health. This brief provides an overview of the broad factors that influence health and describes efforts to address them, including initiatives within Medicaid.

  • Atención de salud en Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes de los Estados Unidos: una revisión, a seis meses de las tormentas (Informe)

    Issue Brief

    Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes de los Estados Unidos (USVI) sufrieron daños significativos en su infraestructura y sistemas de salud a causa del impacto de los huracanes Irma y María en septiembre de 2017. Basándose en entrevistas con residentes, partes interesadas clave, y en informes públicos, este informe proporciona una visión general del estado de los esfuerzos de recuperación, a seis meses de las tormentas, con un enfoque en los sistemas de atención médica.

  • Health Care in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands: A Six-Month Check-Up After the Storms (Report)

    Issue Brief

    Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands suffered significant damage to their infrastructure and health care systems from Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017. Drawing on interviews with residents and key stakeholders as well as public reports, this brief provides an overview of the status of the recovery efforts six months after the storms, with a focus on the health care systems.

  • 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 to both short- and long-term negative consequences on the health and well-being of children in immigrant families.
    Potential changes to public charge policies intended to reduce use of public programs by immigrant families, including their citizen children, could further increase strains on immigrant families and lead to losses in health coverage. To provide insight into the scope of potential impacts of continually evolving immigration policy on children, this data note provides nationwide and state-level estimates (Table 1) of citizen children living in immigrant families and the number currently covered by Medicaid/CHIP coverage.

  • Medicaid’s Role for Selected Populations

    Feature

    Medicaid_s role for selected populations Download Source NOTE: FPL-- Federal Poverty Level. The U.S. Census Bureau's poverty threshold for a family with two adults and one child was $19,318 in 2016.

  • Governors’ Proposed Budgets for FY 2019: Focus on Medicaid and Other Health Priorities

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief provides Medicaid highlights from governors’ proposed budgets for state fiscal year (FY) 2019 (July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019 in most states). Proposed budgets reflect the priorities of the governor and are often blueprints for the legislature to consider. In total, we reviewed 39 proposed state budgets and text from 46 state of the state speeches. This review revealed that while state revenue collections improved in 2017 compared to 2016, considerable economic and regional variation persists, many states are facing significant budget challenges unrelated to Medicaid such as unfunded pension liabilities or falling oil prices, and the outlook for 2018 remains uncertain due, in part, to the impacts of the 2017 Federal Tax Reform Act.

  • Nursing Facilities, Staffing, Residents and Facility Deficiencies, 2009 Through 2016

    Report

    This report provides information on recent trends in nursing facilities in the United States, drawing on data from the federal On-line Survey, Certification, and Reporting system (OSCAR) and more recent Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports (CASPER). We use these databases to provide information on nursing facility characteristics, resident characteristics, facility staffing, and deficiencies by state from 2009 through 2015. This data enables policymakers and the public to monitor and understand recent changes in nursing facility care in the United States and help highlight areas of ongoing concern for current and future policy making.