Medicaid News and Research

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Medicaid is the United States health program for eligible individuals and families with low incomes and resources. It is a means-tested program that is jointly funded by the states and federal government, and is managed by the states.

Study: Bariatric surgery is safe, effective for obese adolescents and young adults

A new study from researchers at LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center, FMOL Health | Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center and Metamor Institute demonstrates that metabolic and bariatric surgery can be delivered safely and effectively for adolescents and young adults living with severe obesity, offering promising improvements in weight loss and obesity-related health conditions.

13 Jul 2026

Rural radiation oncology clinic closures threaten cancer patient care

A new study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found that although the overall number of radiation oncology clinics in the United States has appeared stable in recent years, many individual treatment centers have quietly closed while others have opened.

11 Jul 2026

Insurance denials for brand-name drugs surge over past six years

A new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the American Enterprise Institute found that insurance denials of first attempts to fill prescriptions for brand-name prescription drugs with no generic competitors increased more than two-thirds between 2018 and 2024.

11 Jul 2026

Medicare prescriptions for Wegovy spike after heart disease coverage expansion

Medicare prescriptions for Wegovy increased sharply after the program started covering the anti-obesity medication to prevent heart problems, but just a fraction of beneficiaries likely eligible received the treatment, according to new research from the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics.

9 Jul 2026

Injectable opioid treatment sees rapid growth across the United States

There was a substantial increase in recent years in the use of a form of the primary medication to treat opioid use disorder, according to a Rutgers Health study.

7 Jul 2026

Nursing home shortages threaten care for rapidly aging Americans

As the oldest Baby Boomers turn 80, the country's nursing homes are bracing for an anticipated surge. The number of people who need help with dementia, disabilities and the activities of daily living is growing at a time when the number of nursing home beds is shrinking.

5 Jul 2026

AACR report highlights unequal burden of cancer in the United States

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) today released its Cancer Disparities Progress Report 2026, a comprehensive analysis of the unequal burden of cancer in the United States.

24 Jun 2026

Hidden costs push United States dementia toll to historic high

A new USC-led study finds Alzheimer's disease and related dementias will cost the United States an estimated $818 billion this year, driven largely by often-overlooked costs to persons living with dementia and family and friends providing their care.

24 Jun 2026

Study reveals frequent stop-and-start patterns with GLP-1 drugs

People prescribed GLP-1 medications are more likely to start-and-stop than most people assume, according to a study being presented Sunday at ENDO 2026, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in Chicago, Ill.

14 Jun 2026

Remote monitoring does not beat usual care for sepsis patients

Remote monitoring isn't a panacea for reducing readmissions across all conditions - and for some patients, clinicians should proceed with caution, clinical trial results published today in JAMA Network Open suggest.

11 Jun 2026

Many stroke patients miss intensive rehabilitation after hospitalization

Fewer than one in four people with stroke and fewer than one in seven people with traumatic brain injury receive inpatient rehabilitation care after being hospitalized, according to a study published on June 10, 2026, in Neurology Open Access, an official journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

10 Jun 2026

Statins may help prevent frailty in older adults

Researchers at Mass General Brigham have demonstrated that older U.S. veterans who initiated statin therapy were significantly less likely to develop frailty over time, suggesting that the cholesterol-lowering medications may have healthy aging benefits beyond cardiovascular disease prevention. Results are published in the European Heart Journal.

9 Jun 2026

AI screening tool increases diabetic eye exam referrals for African Americans

In a study exploring how an AI-assisted diagnostic tool shaped care for underserved populations at multiple community-based primary care sites, investigators at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Medicine found that African American patients with diabetes were more likely to receive a diabetic eye exam referral if screened by an AI tool.

9 Jun 2026

Living in a rural area may worsen epilepsy outcomes

A study reveals rural Americans with epilepsy face higher mortality and diagnostic gaps, emphasizing the need for improved healthcare access and resources.

8 Jun 2026

Study links rural living to worse epilepsy health outcomes

For people with epilepsy, living in counties that are more rural was associated with poorer health outcomes than for people living in more urban counties, according to a study published June 3, 2026, in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

3 Jun 2026

Tailored meal programs reduce hospitalizations for chronic disease patients

At least a dozen U.S. states are rolling out medically tailored meals in pilot projects through Medicaid, the federal–state health insurance program serving 71 million Americans who qualify based on income or disability status.

2 Jun 2026

New study reveals barriers to Medicaid-funded home care access

Obtaining home care for older adults with Medicaid can be a complex, multi-step process marked by delays and uncertainty, often resulting in long wait times, according to a new Weill Cornell Medicine study.

26 May 2026

Early CPAP nonadherence does not predict long-term treatment failure

Many insurers stop covering continuous positive airway pressure or CPAP devices if patients don't use them regularly in the first 90 days.

20 May 2026

Private equity hospital acquisitions linked to worse pulmonary patient outcomes

A large new study presented at the 2026 ATS International Conference shows that patients treated for COPD or pneumonia experience worse outcomes across several important measures when they are treated at hospitals that have been acquired by private equity firms.

19 May 2026