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Medicaid provides health coverage to nearly 30 million low-income children and families who lack access to private health insurance. It is a vital part of the health care system, and the backbone of federal and state efforts to expand and improve coverage for low-income uninsured people in the United States.

The Center for Children and Families' (CCF) Strengthening Medicaid project develops fresh approaches to bring a new voice to the public debate about improving the Medicaid program. The project is founded on the recognition that a strong Medicaid program is central to achieving key health care reform goals like expanding coverage and controlling costs. To that end, the project develops specific recommendations to build on Medicaid coverage to serve as a vital component of any health care reform plan. These recommendations focus on:
  • Covering more uninsured low-income Americans;

  • Maintaining and improving access to high-quality, cost-effective care for all Medicaid beneficiaries; and

  • Putting the Medicaid program on sound financial footing while ensuring that available resources are used in the most efficient way.  
The project also develops new ideas to maximize the effectiveness of the Medicaid program at the state and federal levels. The project was launched in December of 2007, with the first three in an ongoing series of short issue briefs. These briefs are authored by a number of health care experts, including some who bring knowledge and experience from outside fields to the Medicaid context. The Strengthening Medicaid project also actively engages policymakers and stakeholders at the state and federal levels in discussion about how the project’s recommendations can be translated into policies.

CCF carries out the Strengthening Medicaid project working with health policy consultant Vikki Wachino.

View the links to the right for issue briefs and other resources related to this project.
Resources/News

(5/1/08)

New Brief on Medicaid and State Budgets (PDF)


(4/29/08)

Information on Efforts to Limit Medicaid Funding to States


Related Publications


Resource Center
About Medicaid

Federal Policy

Facts & Statistics

State Activities

Research



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