The average portion of the U.S. population receiving Medicaid benefits for the entire year increased from 2% in 1966 to 25% in 2021. Medicaid also provides certain services to people who are not eligible for standard Medicaid coverage, like nursing homes for middle-income adults and childbirths for illegal immigrants. Thus, Medicaid pays for about 27% of all nursing home spending in the U.S. and 42% of all childbirths.