How does access to health care impact rural welfare recipients?
States receive federal funding to provide Medicaid coverage for health care to eligible individuals, including certain low-income families. People who “meet the requirements for the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program that were in effect in their State on July 16, 1996” are eligible for Medicaid coverage. Transitional Medicaid coverage is available for six months for those who exit welfare because of increased earnings. An additional six months of coverage is available to families below 185 percent of the poverty line. To qualify, a family must have received welfare for at least three of the six months immediately preceding its exit from welfare. Transitional Medicaid coverage is important for families transitioning off welfare because many of these families have difficulty obtaining private health insurance. Many low-income workers either work for employers who do not offer health care benefits or may be required to wait several months before qualifying for new cove
