Medicaid is funded by both the federal government and the states. Decisions made by either can affect Medicaid’s future, as well as access to health care for millions of Americans.
Right now, many in Congress are seeking to cut Medicaid funding and make across the board changes in the program’s structure. Some governors are looking to make deep cuts in state program funding, as well as asking for federal approval to change the way Medicaid is structured or operates in their state.
The Medicaid Defense Center gives you information on what’s happening at both the state and federal level and provides some tools to help you in your work to keep the Medicaid program strong, both federally and in your state.
You may also be interested in our new Medicaid Expansion Center, where you'll find everything you need to know about the expansion of Medicaid coverage that's part of the Affordable Care Act.
Defending Medicaid at the Federal Level
From Families USA:
- The 2013 New Year's Budget Deal and Medicaid: The Next Cliff (January 2013)
- Budget Timeline (January 2013)
- Will Congress Throw Medicaid Off the Fiscal Cliff? (November 2012)
- Deficit Reduction: Tell Your Legislators to Protect Medicaid (November 2012)
- What’s Wrong with Per Capita Caps in Medicaid? (November 2012)
- Talking Points: Medicaid and the Federal Deficit (November 2012)
- Cutting Medicaid: Ineffective and Harmful (September 2012)
- To Republicans: Don't Balance the Budget through Medicaid Cuts (August 2012)
- Republicans Again Propose Slashing Funding for Medicaid, Medicare, and Other Health Programs (April 2012)
- The House Republican Budget Harms Americans of All Ages (March 2012)
- Talking Points: The Republican Presidential Candidates Call for Medicaid Cuts (December 2011)
- Medicaid: A Lifeline for Blacks and Latinos with Serious Health Care Needs (October 2011)
- Medicaid's Impact in the States: Helping People with Serious Health Care Needs (September 2011)
- A Message to Congress and the Super Committee: "Don't Just Cut Programs-Raise Revenues" (September 2011)
- Medicaid, Deficit Reduction, and the “Super Committee” (August 2011)
- Debt Deal and Budget Timetable for 2011-2013 (August 2011)
- Medicaid, the Budget, and Deficit Reduction: The Threat Continues (August 2011)
- Medicaid Really Does Matter—And Here's a Study Proving It (July 2011)
- Medicaid, the Budget, and Deficit Reduction: Keeping Score of the Threats (Updated July 2011)
- Jobs at Risk: Federal Medicaid Cuts Would Harm State Economies | Calculator (June 2011)
- Rhode Island's Medicaid Waiver: Why It's Not a Model for Your State (May 2011)
- Cutting Medicaid: Harming Seniors and People with Disabilities Who Need Long-Term Care | State Reports (May 2011)
- House Republicans Propose to Slash Funding for Medicaid, Medicare, and Other Health Coverage Programs (April 2011)
- What the House Budget Resolution Means for America's Seniors and People with Disabilities (April 2011)
From Other Organizations:
- Understanding Medicaid Block Grants and Per Capita Caps: How Medicaid Currently Insures States (National Health Law Program, January 2013)
- This blog discusses why proposals to cut provider taxes (which are used by nearly all states to help fund their Medicaid programs) to reduce the deficit is equal to cutting Medicaid. (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, December 10, 2012)
- Job Loss: The Hidden Cost of Medicaid Cuts to Women looks at how Medicaid supports the jobs held by women across the country. It includes state-specific data. (National Women's Law Center, December 7, 2012)
- Limiting provider taxes is being discussed as a way to achieve savings in Medicaid. To learn more about provider taxes, why they are critical in Medicaid, and why cutting them would shift costs to states, see Medicaid Financing Issues: Provider Taxes. (Kaiser Family Foundation, May 2011)
- Medicaid Per Capita Cap Would Shift Costs to States and Place Low-Income Beneficiaries at Risk (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, October 2012)
- Medicaid Block Grants: You Can Put Lipstick on a Pig, but... pulls from Congressional Budget Office reports and other sources to lay out arguments you can use to explain to decision makers in your state why a Medicaid block grant is a bad deal for states. (Bruce Lesley, President of First Focus, September 2012)
- Fact Sheet on Effect of Chairman Ryan's Budget on Medicaid (U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Minority Staff, August 2012)
- Deficit-Reduction Package that Lacks Significant Revenues Would Shift Very Substantial Costs to States and Localities (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, August 2012)
- Ryan Roundup: Everything You Need to Know about Chairman Ryan’s Budget (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, August 2012)
- The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that repealing the Affordable Care Act would increase the deficit by $109 billion from 2013-2022. (Congressional Budget Office, July 2012)
- Increase in Federal Match Associated with Significant Gains in Coverage for Children through Medicaid and CHIP (Health Affairs and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, August 2012)
- The Seven Ways in Which Paul Ryan’s Budget Would Undermine Medicare and Medicaid (Think Progress, April 2012)
- What if Chairman Ryan’s Medicaid Block Grant Had Taken Effect in 2001? Federal Medicaid Funds Would Have Fallen by 35 Percent or More in Most States, by Half in Some, by 2010 (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, April 2012)
- Ryan Medicaid Block Grant Would Cut Medicaid by One-Third by 2022 and More After That (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, March 2012)
Defending Medicaid at the State Level
From Families USA:
From Other Organizations:
- Job Loss: The Hidden Cost of Medicaid Cuts to Women analyzes the importance of Medicaid for women’s employment in the health sector. It includes state-level data on the number of Medicaid-supported health sector jobs that are held by women. (National Women's Law Center, December 2012)
- Medicaid Block Grants: You Can Put Lipstick on a Pig, but... pulls from Congressional Budget Office reports and other sources to lay out arguments you can use to explain to decision makers in your state why a Medicaid block grant is a bad deal for states. (Bruce Lesley, President of First Focus, September 2012)
- Proposed Cap on Federal Spending Would Force Deep Cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security: Would Likely Require Radical Changes Such As Medicare Privatization, a Medicaid Block Grant, and Repeal of Health Reform (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, April 2011)
- Medicaid: An Overview of Spending on “Mandatory” vs. “Optional” Populations and Services (Kaiser Family Foundation, June 2005)
[Medicaid Home]
