Less than 2 years after the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1981 mandated the reorganization of long-established maternal and child health services and substantially reduced funding of programs, a rise in the incidence of unfavorable maternal and child outcomes was detected in national health data. Data suggest at least an inferential…

Between 1979 and 1983 the noninstitutionalized Medicaid population grew by 210,000 people, or one percent. In comparison, because of a severe economic recession, there was a 37 percent increase in the number of people in poverty during the same period. The Medicaid population growth rate is relatively small for the following reasons: (1) Congress…

The bad economy, the eligibility controls of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, and state controlled Aid to Families with Dependent Children payment standards had different aggregate effects for different Medicaid eligibility groups between 1979 and 1983. Increases in the number of children and young women covered by Medicaid did not keep pace…