For more than 79 million Americans, including 37.6 million children, Medicaid coverage helps keep them healthy or cares for them during vulnerable times of illness.

• A temporary helping hand: Medicaid often fills the coverage gap for a short time to help people get on their feet.
• Affordable coverage for working people: Medicaid covers working people who don’t have employer insurance or don’t have access to resources to afford private insurance. Six in 10 adults with Medicaid coverage are working (and are not an older adult, covered by Medicare or a person with a disability).
• Care for veterans: Nearly one in 10 veterans have Medicaid coverage.
• Coverage for senior women: In 2021, 20% of women with Medicare were also enrolled in Medicaid. Medicaid helps cover premiums, deductibles, and cost-sharing as well as services not typically covered by Medicare such as long-term care.
• Coverage for women with lower incomes: In 2023, Medicaid covered more than 33 million women or 20% of all non-elderly adult women in the U.S. Six in ten women with Medicaid (62%) are working and another quarter are caring for family members.
• Coverage for women with disabilities: Nearly half of all non-elderly women with physical and mental disabilities are covered by Medicaid.
• Coverage for pregnant people, including postpartum coverage: To help improve maternal health and coverage stability and to help address racial disparities in maternal health, 49 states including D.C. have expanded Medicaid postpartum coverage to 12 months under a provision in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
• Cares for older adults: Medicaid supports more than 60% people living in nursing homes – our parents and grandparents.
• Helps older adults and others with Medicare costs: About 12 million seniors and younger people with disabilities, or 1 in 6 Medicare beneficiaries, get help from Medicaid as well.

• Covers services not available in Medicare: Medicaid covers long-term care in nursing facilities and community care in older adult’s homes, which are not covered by Medicare.
• Helps people with mental health needs and prevents suicide: Medicaid is largest payer for mental health services in the U.S. and covers more services than any other insurer.
• Cares for people with an opioid use disorder: Medicaid provides treatment for four out of 10 people with opioid use disorder.
• Ensures healthy babies: Nearly half of all births in the U.S. are covered by Medicaid.
• Prevents infant deaths: Medicaid has contributed to dramatic declines in infant and child mortality in our country since the 1960s.
• Medicaid covers millions of children: Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program cover 40 percent of children in the U.S, nearly 38 million kids.
• Supports vulnerable children: Together with CHIP, Medicaid covers almost half of all children with special health care needs and is the only source of coverage for nearly four in 10 children with special health care needs.
• Helps children with mental health needs: 42 states cover primary care for children’s mental health. More than 3 million children benefit from these services.
• Care for foster kids: Most foster children depend on Medicaid for their health care.
• Ensures access for rural communities: Medicaid plays a critical role in providing health coverage to children and families in small towns and rural areas where people are more likely to be uninsured and face challenges accessing health care. Medicaid/CHIP covers 47% of children and 18% of adults in small towns and rural areas