What to Know About Medicaid

Medicaid, the health insurance program for low -income Americans who offer coverage for more than 70 million people, faces his greatest overhaul for decades Under “One, Big, Beau Bill” by President Donald Trump, a massive tax and expenditure package which is now taken into account by the Senate which would reduce its funding.

The versions of the Chamber and the Senate of the bill, which are still undergoing changes, because the upper voting chamber on changes, would reduce the funding of the hundreds of billions of dollars, according to the Budget Budget of the Non -Sample Congress (CBO). Nearly 12 million adults could lose health insurance due to the proposed reductions in the revised Senate bill over the next decade, the CBO said in a Saturday report. A large part of the cuts should occur by imposing new administrative requirements on the registrants or risks losing their coverage.

The White House rejected the CBO conclusions, insisting that the program cuts will only reduce fraud and waste. “President Trump is committed to protecting and preserving Medicaid, and that is exactly what the big one accomplishes by cutting illegal immigrants from the program, implementing common sense work requirements and applying the verification of basic eligibility to fight fraud,” wrote the spokesperson for the White House, Kush Desai.

The Chamber narrowly adopted the bill in May, and legislators are now working with the aim of adopting the legislation proposed by a deadline of July 4 imposed by Trump. The proposed Medicaid Cups were controversial among the Republicans, some of whom were wary of their potential impact. Senator Thom Tillis, a republican of North Carolina, promised to vote against the bill unless his concerns concerning the cuts are approached.

Find out more: Trump’s “ Big and Beautiful Bill of Trump faces the opposition of Musk and certain Republicans while the Senate is aptly voting to make it advance

Here’s what you need to know about Medicaid.

What is Medicaid?

Medicaid was created following the adoption of 1965 Social Security amendments under President Lyndon B. Johnson, according to the national archives. The law has established both Medicare, which generally offers health insurance coverage for Americans aged 65 and over, and Medicaid, which serves low -income people.

Medicaid is financed jointly by governments of states and federals and represents approximately a sixth of health care spending in the United States, it is an extremely popular program among Americans: more than 80% have a positive vision of Medicaid, according to a survey carried out earlier this month by the organization of non-partisan KFF research.

The Act respecting affordable care has enabled the states to extend the admissibility to Medicaid to include unmistakable adults whose income was up to 138% of the level of federal poverty – a national median of $ 44,367 for a family of four this year. Forty states and Washington, DC, have so far adopted expansion, 90% of which is funded by the federal government.

During the Pandemic COVID-19, the congress allocated additional Medicaid funds so that the beneficiaries can maintain “continuous coverage”, forcing states to maintain most of the people registered in the program independently of income in exchange for the strengthening of federal financing. Continuous registration ended at the end of March 2023 and a “relaxation” process began.

Some states have alternative names for Medicaid, such as Denalicare in Alaska, Kancare in Kansas and Soonercare in Oklahoma.

How many people are registered in Medicaid?

Registration in Medicaid has reached around 20% of the total American population in recent years, reports the PEW Research Center.

In the United States, some 71.3 million low-income people were enrolled in the program in March 2025, more than half of whom were adults, according to a ratio by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The figure was notably higher in recent years: around 100 million people have been registered in Medicaid at a given time in 2023, according to a December 2024 report from the Medicaid and Chip Payment and Access Commission. However, the figures decreased after the end of continuous registration, as states have taken up the priority of people in the program.

Find out more: Medicaid extensions have saved tens of thousands of lives, find the study

The proportion of people enrolled in the program varies considerably between states. According to KFF, more than 30% of residents of Louisiana and New Mexico are covered by Medicaid, against only 12% in Wyoming and Dakota of the North.

Who is eligible for Medicaid?

The federal government establishes major conditions of eligibility for Medicaid. It obliges states to cover certain groups when they fall below certain income levels, including pregnant women, families with children, disabled people and most children with foster family.

But as the program is administered by the State, the qualifications of Medicaid vary on a state -based state. For example, some immigrants can be eligible for coverage in states such as New Jersey or New York. One of the provisions of the Senate version of the Trump tax and expenditure bill was intended to reduce federal funding to the states that use Medicaid to provide health care to undocumented immigrants. However, this part of the bill is in limbo after the Senate parliamentarian found that the measure did not comply with the rules of the Senate.

Are Medicaid beneficiaries required to work?

Current regulations in most states do not require MEDICAIDI beneficiaries. In Georgia, however, candidates are required to prove that they have finished at least 80 hours of work or volunteer services to receive coverage. Due to this verification system, a propublica report revealed that Georgia has only scored a fraction of people eligible for Medicaid: around 7,500 of 250,000 eligible residents.

Attempts to implement work requirements in Arkansas were canceled by a federal court in 2019. A federal judge prevented requirements similar to Kentucky from taking the previous year, and Governor Andy Beshear interrupted the efforts to impose them in 2019 shortly after their entry into office.

Idaho, Kentucky and Indiana have adopted legislation to impose work requirements this year, according to KFF. Other states weigh on similar similar measures. And potential work requirements are taken into account at the federal level in “One, Big and Beautiful Bill” by Trump. The package would oblige the beneficiaries of Medicaid from 19 to 64 to verify that they work at least 80 hours a month, or train for a new job, study or volunteer. People ‘work status would be checked twice a year.