Research Update: It’s Simple—Medicaid Helps People Work

My colleagues have been analyzing the highly damaging Medicaid work reporting requirement provisions of the House-passed debt ceiling bill crafted by Speaker McCarthy, including how it would likely harm people with disabilities and parents. There is an overwhelming stack of evidence showing that work requirements are a terrible idea: they don’t actually improve employment rates, […]

New CMS Guidance Encourages State Demonstrations to Improve Transitions into the Community for Individuals Released After Incarceration

On April 17, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), issued new guidance sharing a new opportunity for states interested in improving transitions from state incarceration to the community. The grotesque racial inequities in justice-involved populations, combined with abrupt transitions back into community settings without health supports after incarceration, lead to poor post-release health […]

McCarthy Bill Would Radically Change Disability Standards for Medicaid and Reduce Coverage for Persons with Disabilities

As my colleagues Joan Alker and Edwin Park recently discussed, Section 321 of Speaker McCarthy’s debt ceiling bill, passed on a party-line vote in the House on April 26, 2023, would impose mandatory work reporting requirements on Medicaid nationwide, burdening states and worsening the health of millions of people. The Congressional Budget Office estimates this […]

Biden Administration Takes Step to Improve DACA Grantees’ Access to Health Coverage, Congress and States Should Do More

Following up on President Biden’s announcement earlier this month, HHS released a proposed rule that would make DACA grantees eligible for Marketplace coverage and some Medicaid/CHIP coverage. This is an important step in the right direction – removing unnecessary and unjustified barriers to health coverage for DACA grantees – but there is more work to […]

Medicaid Coverage At Risk for People with Disabilities: How You Can Help

By Michael Atkins, The Arc of the United States Medicaid is the nation’s primary health insurance for people with disabilities, covering over ten million people with disabilities under the age of 65. For many people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), Medicaid provides even more than insurance – it’s a lifeline. Millions of people with […]

Medicaid Managed Care: A Promising New Point of Accountability

In most states, a central challenge for Medicaid is holding managed care organizations (MCOs) accountable for their performance for enrollees, especially children and families. Medicaid MCOs are collectively responsible for the health of tens of millions (with an “m”) of Medicaid beneficiaries and the proper use of hundreds of billions (with a “b”) of federal […]