{"id":48462,"date":"2022-02-02T11:40:20","date_gmt":"2022-02-02T16:40:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/?p=48462"},"modified":"2025-07-29T13:32:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T17:32:53","slug":"what-is-medicaid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.singlecare.com\/blog\/what-is-medicaid\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Medicaid?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Health insurance coverage is an important factor in not only staying healthy, but for getting quality health care when needed. In 2024, 27.2 million Americans of all ages didn\u2019t have health coverage, and nearly 82% of uninsured adults say it\u2019s hard to afford health care costs. Fortunately, Medicaid is a financial assistance program that helps certain groups of people who otherwise have a lack of access to affordable health coverage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Understanding who is eligible for Medicaid and what it covers can be confusing. This is a general overview to help you understand the purpose of Medicaid, who can benefit from the program, and what it covers.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Medicaid?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Medicaid is a health insurance program funded jointly by the state and federal governments. It provides eligible citizens and certain qualified non-citizens with free or low-cost health coverage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Originally passed into law in 1965, Medicaid has continued to evolve throughout the years to provide quality and affordable health care to additional groups of people. Today, Medicaid is the single largest source of health coverage in the nation, covering <\/span>71.4 million enrollees as of January 2025<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

What does Medicaid cover?<\/span><\/h3>\n

Federal law requires that states provide certain <\/span>mandatory benefits<\/span><\/a> under the Medicaid program, but allows each state to cover additional optional benefits if they choose. These mandatory Medicaid benefits that all states must cover include:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n