This fact sheet examines the assistance for Medicaid programs and key health provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. It includes a breakdown of additional federal allocations to states for Medicaid costs under the act.

This policy brief synthesizes the results of 29 studies in 23 states that examine the role Medicaid plays in state and local economies.  These studies estimate the economic stimulus derived from Medicaid spending, and also analyze the adverse effects on the state economy from reducing Medicaid spending.

The Kaiser Family Foundation issued several new reports looking at how the recession and growing unemployment is affecting people's health coverage and state Medicaid programs. The new reports were released in conjunction with an Alliance for Health Reform briefing.

This policy brief analyzes the relationship between increases in the unemployment rate and changes in the number of people covered by employer-sponsored health insurance, Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and non-group insurance policies, as well as the financial implications for government budgets.

This report relays the perspective of leading state Medicaid directors to describe the fiscal strain on Medicaid and other safety-net programs as enrollment swells and state tax revenues shrink, raising the prospect of program cutbacks. It augments the most recent Medicaid budget survey report that was based on a survey and interviews with all state Medicaid directors in July and August 2008, at the beginning of state fiscal year 2009.

This fact sheet examines how an economic downturn increases state Medicaid program enrollment and costs at the same time that states face new budget constraints, as well as possible policy responses.

This case study report examines the experience of Vermont's Choices for Care experiment in delivering long-term services, created through a five-year Medicaid waiver in 2005. The state has seen a shift of people and money toward community settings, but also the return of waiting lists for some populations.

The economic downturn has strained family finances and led some Americans to cut back on medications and medical care. The Foundation has a number of resources that shed light on how Americans and states are faring and provide background on the uninsured, employer-sponsored health insurance costs, trends in states’ Medicaid enrollment and spending and prior efforts to support the Medicaid program during a slumping economy.

This eighth annual 50-state survey on Medicaid and state budget actions finds enrollment began to rise in fiscal year 2008 with states expecting even larger increases for fiscal year 2009.  With the increased enrollment, Medicaid spending is also rising more rapidly than in the recent past.

Gary Claxton, a Kaiser Family Foundation vice president, testified about state-based health reform efforts as part of the Senate Finance Committee's Prepare For Launch Health Reform Summit. His testimony examines the role of Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program, as well as the way various federal laws and policies may limit innovation at the state level.