Politics, Pandemic, and Racial Justice Through the Lens of Medicaid

Medicaid is the largest health care coverage program in the United States and serves as a core institution that shapes-and is shaped by-public health crises, racial injustice, and electoral politics. As such, Medicaid played a central role in 2020-a monumental year in American history-when COVID, extraordinary uprisings against racial violence, and a historic presidential election all strikingly converged. Examining Medicaid's pivotal positioning at this nexus of politics, pandemic, and racial justice highlights fundamental constraints and possibilities in US health policy and underscores potentially fruitful directions for change under the incoming Biden administration.