How States Can Support Family Caregivers Under Medicaid’s Community Engagement Requirements
Article Publication Date
Summary
The AARP Public Policy Institute recently released a report highlighting Medicaid’s role in supporting the health and well-being of family caregivers.
States play a crucial role in supporting the health and well-being of family caregivers through Medicaid, which provides health coverage to nearly 7.3 million caregivers as of 2025. This coverage helps caregivers sustain their caregiving roles and enables them to keep older adults and others they support in their homes and communities, where most prefer to be.
The recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) introduces new community engagement requirements (often called work requirements) for some adult Medicaid beneficiaries. While the law exempts family caregivers, questions remain about how states will implement the policy and ensure that family caregivers receive the exemption they are entitled to under the law. This report outlines options for states to consider as part of their efforts to protect continuity of coverage for family caregivers.
States play a crucial role in supporting the health and well-being of family caregivers through Medicaid, which provides health coverage to nearly 7.3 million caregivers as of 2025. This coverage helps caregivers sustain their caregiving roles and enables them to keep older adults and others they support in their homes and communities, where most prefer to be.
The recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) introduces new community engagement requirements (often called work requirements) for some adult Medicaid beneficiaries. While the law exempts family caregivers, questions remain about how states will implement the policy and ensure that family caregivers receive the exemption they are entitled to under the law. This report outlines options for states to consider as part of their efforts to protect continuity of coverage for family caregivers.