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Nurse checking senior man's blood pressure in his home

The Medicaid program plays an integral role in the health and long-term care of older adults, including helping them age at home and in their communities. The program directly supports hospitals, health care workers, nursing homes, other health care and long-term care (LTC) providers, and their local communities across the country.

Medicaid provides health care coverage for more than 17 million people ages 50 and over nationwide, as detailed in our national Medicaid Fact Sheet.

The 51 State Fact Sheets below focus on Medicaid enrollees ages 50 and older in every state and the District of Columbia. Each provides figures, including:

  • The number of older adults in each state who, with help from Medicaid, use home- and community- based services such as home care aides, adult day services and transportation services
  • The number of older adults in each state who rely on Medicaid to pay for nursing home care
  • The number of Medicare enrollees who get help paying for premiums, deductibles, prescriptions and more through Medicaid
  • The number of Medicare enrollees in each state who are able to access additional services that Medicare does not cover, notably, long-term care, with help from Medicaid

Medicaid pays for a broad range of long-term care services for people who need them and provides important supports for family caregivers, including health care coverage for them and services for the people they care for. It also serves a safety net for low-income adults on Medicare who face unaffordable out-of-pocket costs.

Medicaid program dollars have been shown to provide stability in the health care system, particularly in lowering rates of rural hospital closures. Medicaid’s direct support for health care and LTC access and reliable reimbursement rates for hospitals and providers also indirectly support surrounding local economies supporting employment and financial stability.

Find the fact sheet for your state in the alphabetical list below.

Our fact sheet with national figures about Medicaid and its role for older adults is here.