Medicaid—a federal/state partnership with shared authority and financing—is a health insurance program for low-income individuals, children, their parents, the elderly and people with disabilities.
Medicaid pays for health care for more than 74.5 million people nationally. Although participation is optional, all 50 states participate in the Medicaid program.
However, eligibility for Medicaid benefits varies widely among the states - all states must meet federal minimum requirements, but they have options for expanding Medicaid beyond the minimum federal guidelines, the details are outlined here.
What’s Next for Medicaid expansion? States continue to consider the costs and benefits of expansion, and whether or not to pursue expansion through innovative Section 1115 waivers.
Click on a state to see health insurance coverage for the total state population by coverage category.
Legend:
Currently not expanded
Expansion approved by ballot initiative, not yet implemented
Implemented expansion through a CMS Section 1115 Waiver
Currently expanded
Click on state to see health insurance coverage for the total state population by coverage category.
These 2016 data are available from the Kaiser Family Foundation’s State Health Facts.
The roll-over feature on the map above provides information on the overall health insurance coverage of each state's population, for comparison, including 2016 data on the percent of the population enrolled in public insurance (Medicaid, Medicare and the military), private insurance (employer based plans and subsidized market plans from the state and federal exchanges), as well as the percent of the state population without health insurance.
A number of states are currently implementing or planning to implement Medicaid expansion through an approved Section 1115 Waiver. For more information on Medicaid waivers click here.