As Tough Times Wane, States Act to Improve Medicaid Coverage and Quality: Results from a 50-State Medicaid Budget Survey for State Fiscal Years 2007 and 2008

Publication Date: October 2007

Publisher: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

Author(s):

Research Area: Health

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

The annual 50-state survey of state officials on Medicaid and state budget actions reports enrollment in Medicaid declined for the first time in nearly a decade. The 0.5 percent enrollment decline in fiscal year 2007 was driven primarily by two factors. States reported that the new citizenship documentation requirements were causing significant delays in processing applications, affecting mostly individuals already eligible for the program. State officials also cited the good economy and lower unemployment for reducing enrollment. Faced with an improving economy, 42 states expect to expand coverage to the uninsured in the next year.