Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/KimballLewis

The study suggests that declines in welfare caseloads lead to declines in Medicaid enrollment. The authors find that in both California and Florida, about half the children leaving AFDC left Medicaid as well. They found the same pattern among adults in California, while in Florida, two-thirds of the adults exiting AFDC lost their Medicaid eligibility. While outreach efforts related to CHIP may help stimulate greater use of Medicaid’s poverty-related provisions for children, the authors suggest that states consider other actions as well. In addition, Medicaid programs need to examine their administrative practices to ensure that qualified persons leaving AFDC remain enrolled in Medicaid.

Although most researchers agree that the number of Americans without health insurance is increasing, they often disagree on the actual number of the uninsured. This paper discusses the variations in survey design and how the variations may explain many of the differences among estimates of the uninsured.

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