Public Insurance for Childless Adults

There are many policies states can adopt to help all low-income women move out of the ranks of the uninsured. Although federal law does not require coverage for adults without children or disabilities, states can create a public program for this population through their Medicaid or CHIP programs via a waiver or with state-only funding. The Report Card examines states’ provision of publicly funded health insurance for otherwise uninsured, low-income adults, regardless of their parental status, age or disability.

Impact of the Affordable Care Act

States must expand their Medicaid program to all adults with incomes up to 133% of the Federal Poverty Level or FPL (that's about $14,440 for a single person or $29,000 for a family of four) by 2014, including those who have not typically been eligible for public coverage. Adults who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but who have incomes at or below 400% of the Federal Poverty Level (that's $43,320 for a single person or $88,200 for a family of four) will be eligible for subsidies to help pay health insurance premiums and out-of-pockets costs starting in 2014. These subsidies can be used for coverage purchased through new state-based "Health Insurance Exchanges."

Does the state provide health care coverage for low-income adults not otherwise eligible for publicly funded health insurance?

States receive a "meets policy" if they provide statewide comprehensive health coverage (with covered services through Medicaid or a "Medicaid look-alike" program) to otherwise uninsured adults whose incomes are at or above 100 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). States receive a "limited policy" if they have a coverage program for this population but require that income is below 100 percent of the FPL, have capped enrollment, or if the program is limited in scope (including offering benefits that are more limited than Medicaid). States with minimal or no programs receive a "no policy."

The 2010 Report Card uses a different source for this indicator than in 2007, therefore there is no comparison to 2007.

State	Strength of Policy	Change from 2007
Alabama	No Policy	N/A
Alaska	No Policy	N/A
Arizona	Meets Policy	N/A
Arkansas	Limited Policy	N/A
California	No Policy	N/A
Colorado	No Policy	N/A
Connecticut	Limited Policy	N/A
Delaware	Meets Policy	N/A
District of Columbia	Limited Policy	N/A
Florida	No Policy	N/A
Georgia	No Policy	N/A
Hawaii	Limited Policy	N/A
Idaho	Limited Policy	N/A
Illinois	No Policy	N/A
Indiana	Limited Policy	N/A
Iowa	Limited Policy	N/A
Kansas	No Policy	N/A
Kentucky	No Policy	N/A
Louisiana	No Policy	N/A
Maine	Limited Policy	N/A
Maryland	Limited Policy	N/A
Massachusetts	Limited Policy	N/A
Michigan	Limited Policy	N/A
Minnesota	Limited Policy	N/A
Mississippi	No Policy	N/A
Missouri	No Policy	N/A
Montana	No Policy	N/A
Nebraska	No Policy	N/A
Nevada	No Policy	N/A
New Hampshire	No Policy	N/A
New Jersey	No Policy	N/A
New Mexico	Limited Policy	N/A
New York	Meets Policy	N/A
North Carolina	No Policy	N/A
North Dakota	No Policy	N/A
Ohio	No Policy	N/A
Oklahoma	Limited Policy	N/A
Oregon	Limited Policy	N/A
Pennsylvania	Limited Policy	N/A
Rhode Island	No Policy	N/A
South Carolina	No Policy	N/A
South Dakota	No Policy	N/A
Tennessee	Limited Policy	N/A
Texas	No Policy	N/A
Utah	Limited Policy	N/A
Vermont	Meets Policy	N/A
Virginia	No Policy	N/A
Washington	Limited Policy	N/A
West Virginia	No Policy	N/A
Wisconsin	Limited Policy	N/A
Wyoming	No Policy	N/A

Policy Indicator Counts

Meets Policy:

4

Limited Policy:

20

Weak Policy:

0

No/Harmful Policy:

27

Better:

0

Same:

0

Worse:

0

Data Source: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, “Where are States Today? Medicaid and State-Funded Coverage Eligibility Levels for Low-Income Adults,” December 2009, available at http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/7993.pdf, accessed September 7, 2010.