Making the Medicaid-welfare disconnect work for low-income families

Medicaid has historically functioned as the health insurance program for families on welfare, but the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) "disconnected" the two programs. The idea was that families should not lose Medicaid just because they left welfare under PRWORA's new work requirements and time limits. However, de-linkage has not worked as Congress intended. The states have failed to implement the disconnect properly, causing hundreds of thousands of poor families to drop off the medicaid rolls; most are now uninsured. This issue of States of Health looks at the Medicaid-welfare disconnect and how advocates are responding to protect families and children.