Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

This brief examines typical enrollment patterns for Medicaid and CHIP and uses 2018 Medicaid claims data to gain insight into the effects of the continuous enrollment requirements by eligibility group. Roughly 2% of Medicaid enrollees come on or leave the program in an average month, although there is variation across eligibility groups. A policy to require continuous enrollment would result in sharp reductions in monthly disenrollment rates and would also reduce monthly enrollment rates due to reductions in churn.

This fact sheet provides analysis of this recent enrollment decrease and discusses potential implications for coverage rates. It is based on Kaiser Family Foundation analysis of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Performance Indicator Project Data.

This data note looks at national and state-by-state Medicaid and CHIP enrollment data through December 2022. After declines in enrollment from 2017 through 2019, preliminary data for December 2022 show that total Medicaid/CHIP enrollment grew to 92.3 million, an increase of 21.2 million from enrollment in February 2020 (29.8%), right before the pandemic and when enrollment began to steadily increase (Figure 1).

This data note discusses changes in the number of applications for Medicaid/CHIP coverage during the coronavirus pandemic. Although enrollment in Medicaid/CHIP has increased steadily by more than 6 million individuals (9%) from February to September 2020, the total number of Medicaid/CHIP applications has decreased by more than 150,000 (-6%) in the same time period. The decline in applications might on the surface suggest that fewer people are applying for coverage even in the face of large job and income losses, but data limitations – in particular, the fact that application statistics do not distinguish between new signups and renewals – make it difficult to draw any clear conclusions.

Following enrollment gains since the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid and CHIP enrollment declined in 36 states, by 1.9 million nationwide, between December 2017 and July 2019.

As some policymakers in Washington are pushing to reduce the federal deficit and debt, a new KFF resource provides a concise explanation of federal spending for domestic and global health programs and services, which could be part of any conversation about curbing federal spending. Federal spending on health programs and…

As some policymakers in Washington are pushing to reduce the federal deficit and debt, this brief provides a concise explanation of federal spending for domestic and global health programs and services, which could be part of any conversation about curbing federal spending. These FAQs answer basic questions about health spending and the federal budget and budget enforcement tools, including the debt limit and sequestration.

This brief uses pre-pandemic data from the 2016-2019 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to examine the extent to which people enroll in and retain other coverage during the 12 months following disenrollment from Medicaid/CHIP.

The new health reform law will require most U.S. citizens and legal residents to have health coverage by 2014. It provides new options for coverage by expanding Medicaid eligibility to more low-income people and creating a state-based system of health insurance exchanges through which individuals can purchase coverage, with federal…

Despite tight budgets, nearly all states maintained or made targeted expansions or improvements in their Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP) eligibility and enrollment rules in 2010, preserving the programs’ important role of providing coverage to millions of low-income Americans who otherwise lack affordable options. This stability in large…