Medicaid is the nation's major public health insurance program for low-income Americans, financing health and long-term care services for over 52 million people, including children and many of the sickest and poorest in our nation. Since its enactment in 1965, Medicaid has improved access to health care for low-income individuals, financed innovations in health care delivery, and functioned as the nation’s primary source of long-term care financing. The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was enacted in 1997 to provide coverage to uninsured low-income children who did not qualify for Medicaid.  Today, the SCHIP program assists roughly 5 million low-income children.

Recent rapid growth in Medicaid spending at a time of great fiscal crisis at both state and federal levels has placed Medicaid squarely at the center of the current national health policy debate.  Recent state-level efforts to constrain Medicaid spending have restricted provider payments, eligibility, and benefits, leading some to worry about comprising access to care.  On the federal level, policymakers are now considering proposals to restructure Medicaid and dramatically cut spending. 

This page contains links to key research, policy analysis, and the latest data and statistics on the Medicaid and SCHIP programs.