Deficit Reduction Act of 2005: Implications for Medicaid

This issue brief summarizes the Medicaid provisions of the budget reconciliation law signed in February 2006 and discusses the implications of the proposed changes. The changes would net reductions of $4.8 billion over the next five years and $26.1 billion over the next ten years from current Medicaid spending. Read about the many policy changes in the DRA, which both reduces federal and state Medicaid spending and also changes health care access and coverage for low-income beneficiaries.