Expenditures per Capita on Medicaid and CHIP

Description: 

Total expenditures on Medicare and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in constant dollars, divided by the country’s total population.

Source: 

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, National Health Expenditure Accounts (Historical Data) and U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates.

Methodological Notes: 

Medicaid is a public program administered at the state level, which provides medical assistance to the needy. Families with dependent children, the aged, blind, and disabled who are in financial need are eligible for the program. The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), formerly called the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), is a program administered at the state level that provides health care for low- and moderate-income children who do not qualify for Medicaid (in many states the income and age thresholds for ineligibility are higher for CHIP than for Medicaid).

Expenditures are adjusted for inflation using the Bureau of Economic Analysis price index for Gross Domestic Product. See National Income and Product Accounts.