Yesterday, the annual KFF survey report was released with a webinar featuring highlights of two reports and a discussion that included Kate McEvoy, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, and was moderated by KFF’s Larry Levitt. The webinar and reports contain important information that should be of interest to policymakers, stakeholders, members of the media, and anyone interested in health care policy during this pivotal moment for Medicaid.
While we report on the survey findings in two reports, the data were collected on one survey conducted by KFF and CCF teams. The annual report, “Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility, Enrollment, and Renewal Policies as States Prepare for Major Medicaid Policy Changes,” provides a snapshot of various eligibility, enrollment, renewal, and cost-sharing policies and procedures. The 2026 report describes how H.R. 1 could affect various policies.
The companion report, “An Early Look at Policy Decisions as States Get Ready to Implement Work Requirements,” offers an early look at states’ differing approaches to implementing work requirements amid cost and time constraints and uncertainty from delayed federal guidance.
As Kate McEvoy pointed out during the KFF webinar, this is a dynamic situation as states work to implement policy changes as the regulations are being written. The survey provides an important snapshot of the current situation and shows that most states are planning to adopt less restrictive policies and automated verification, while a handful are implementing early or taking approaches that will be more burdensome on states and individuals.
As usual, these reports include numerous graphics and state-level data tables. We will continue to unpack the reports in future blogs and incorporate the data into CCF’s H.R. 1 state trackers.