Maintaining Medicaid coverage during downturns in the economic cycle is a significant policy challenge for states. In recessions, states struggle to finance the cost of Medicaid coverage, which increases as people lose jobs and the health coverage that comes with them, becoming eligible for Medicaid. At the same time, state revenues, mirror¬ing the weak economy, generally become stagnant or decline. This issue brief paper offers four alternative approaches that the federal government could take to strengthen state Medicaid financing programs during periods of economic challenge.

This issue brief was released as part of CCF’s Strengthening Medicaid project, which develops fresh ideas to strengthen the Medicaid program and to engage policymakers and stakeholders at the state and federal levels in discussion about how these ideas might be translated into policies.