Reformulating the Federal Match as a Key to the Sustainability of Medicaid

Abstract

The recent so-called “great recession” highlighted both the importance of Medicaid to our nation's vulnerable populations and the financial burden of Medicaid on state governments. For the more than 51 million individuals with Medicaid coverage (among them, 26 million children), the program makes access to health care services affordable.¹ However, the ever-increasing costs of health care and recent rapid enrollment growth in Medicaid for children, disabled adults, and elderly adults¹ make Medicaid progressively unaffordable and fiscally unsustainable for states that must balance their annual budgets.