Medicaid is the nation’s largest health insurance program for low-income persons. The data in this report show state efforts around health care coverage for low-income women and children during the fiscal downturn of 2003.
Summary
Medicaid is the nation’s largest health insurance program for low-income persons. The data in this report show state efforts around health care coverage for low-income women and children during the fiscal downturn of 2003. Perhaps the most significant finding is that during the states’ budget difficulties in 2003, many still managed to preserve and protect health care coverage for these populations. Other major findings of this study include these:
- Medicaid covered over one-third of all U.S. births to low-income pregnant women—a proportion that has remained stable since the National Governors Association (NGA) began collecting data in 1993.
- Many states have been preserving eligibility levels and enrollment policies under Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) for maternal and child health (MCH) populations, despite significant budget deficits.
- Some states were able to achieve modest eligibility expansions and policy advances.
The data in this report are largely from 2003, which is the most recent year for which data are available in some categories.
