The Economics of Medicaid: New Evidence on Privatization, Competition, and Program Design.

Medicaid has evolved from a small safety-net program into the largest health insurer in the United States, covering almost 80 million Americans at a combined federal and state cost of $919 billion in 2024.. This growth has been accompanied by a structural shift. Unlike Medicare, which is a uniform national program, Medicaid is effectively 50- plus programs…