Some Medicaid recipients think cuts to the program under the “One Big Beautiful Bill” won’t impact them. They could be wrong.

Federal rules govern Medicaid programs, which rely on federal funding. However, each state’s programs are tailored to its unique needs and are sometimes referred to by different names. As a result, many people covered by their state program may not know their health care coverage is Medicaid, which will see nearly $1 trillion in cuts and stricter eligibility requirements.

“Virtually every state has rebranded their Medicaid program,” said Rich Rasmussen, the president and CEO of the Oklahoma Hospital Association. “In Oklahoma, people say, ‘I’m not on Medicaid, I’m on SoonerCare.”

“They don’t see themselves on Medicaid,” he said. “When they wake up and see the impact this is going to have on their access to care, that will be the sleeping giant that we haven’t awoken yet.”

State Program Names, From Alabama to Wyoming

Not every state uses a non-Medicaid name: Several, including Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky and Michigan, use the word in their program’s moniker. Here are the names of each state’s Medicaid program:

  • Alabama – Alabama Medicaid
  • Alaska – DenaliCare
  • Arizona – Arizona Health Care Costs Containment System (AHCCCS)
  • Arkansas – Health Care
  • California – Medi-Cal
  • Colorado – Health First Colorado
  • Connecticut – Husky Health
  • Delaware – Diamond State Health Plan
  • Florida – Statewide Medicaid Managed Care Program (SMMC), Managed Medical Assistance (MMA) Program, Long-term Care (LTC) Program
  • Georgia – Georgia Medicaid
  • Hawaii – Med-QUEST
  • Idaho – Idaho Medicaid Health Plan
  • Illinois – Medical Assistance Program, HealthChoice Illinois
  • Indiana – Hoosier Healthwise
  • Iowa – Iowa Medicaid, IA Health Link
  • Kansas – Kansas Medical Assistance Program (KMAP), KanCare
  • Kentucky – Kentucky Medicaid
  • Louisiana – Louisiana Medicaid, Healthy Louisiana (formerly Bayou Health)
  • Maine – MaineCare
  • Maryland – Medical Assistance
  • Massachusetts – MassHealth
  • Michigan – Michigan Medicaid
  • Minnesota – Medical Assistance (MA)
  • Mississippi – Mississippi Coordinated Access Network (MississippiCAN)
  • Missouri – MO HealthNet
  • Montana – Montana Medicaid
  • Nebraska – Nebraska Medical Assistance Program (NMAP)
  • Nevada – Nevada Medicaid
  • New Hampshire – NH Medicaid, Medical Assistance
  • New Jersey – NJ FamilyCare
  • New Mexico – Turquoise Care (formerly Centennial Care)
  • New York – New York State Medicaid, Medicaid Managed Care
  • North Carolina – NC Medicaid
  • North Dakota – North Dakota Medicaid
  • Ohio – Ohio Medicaid, MyCare Ohio
  • Oklahoma – SoonerCare
  • Oregon – Oregon Health Plan (OHP)
  • Pennsylvania – Medical Assistance (MA)
  • Rhode Island – RI Medical Assistance Program
  • South Carolina – Healthy Connections
  • South Dakota – South Dakota Medicaid
  • Tennessee – TennCare
  • Texas – STAR+PLUS
  • Utah – Utah Medicaid
  • Vermont – Green Mountain Care
  • Virginia – Cardinal Care
  • Washington – Apple Health
  • Washington, D.C. – DC Medicaid
  • West Virginia – West Virginia Medicaid
  • Wisconsin – Forward Health
  • Wyoming – Wyoming Medicaid, Equality Care

‘A Profound Effect’ on Plan Users Expected

Under the bill, eligibility requirements will change, and co-pays will be required for some Medicaid recipients.

The states will also be required to shoulder more of the funding for these programs, which could result in further changes to eligibility and benefits for those individual programs. 

Many changes aren’t likely to be immediate, however. “We expect there to be significant changes to Medicaid, but not in the near term,” said Josh Hodges, chief customer officer at the National Council on Aging, who noted that new work requirements for adults aged between 19 and 64 won’t take effect until 2027.

Still, he said, “we expect the changes to Medicaid will have a profound impact on recipients over the next decade.”