Medicaid Spending Growth over the Last Decade and the Great Recession, 2000-2009

This report examines Medicaid spending growth nationally during the last decade, with a focus on growth during the recession of 2007 to 2009.

The recession-driven enrollment growth in recent years drove program spending to increase faster than national health spending overall, but on a per enrollee basis the growth in Medicaid spending has remained lower than the rise in private insurance premiums and overall national health expenditures. The recession-driven increase in Medicaid enrollment has been the primary cause of the increase in overall Medicaid spending.

Report (.pdf)