Unemployment rose sharply following the start of the Great Recession in 2007. At the same time, enrollment in Medicaid increased as Americans who were hard-hit in the economic downturn qualified for the health insurance program for low-income Americans. Medicaid enrollment rose from 16.6 percent of the under-65 population in 2007 to 20.6 percent in 2010.

Since the Supreme Court ruled on the Affordable Care Act – also known as Obamacare – there have been lots of questions about Medicaid: How it's funded, what the Supreme Court decision meant, and what's going to change now. While the Supreme Court upheld most of the Affordable Care Act, it struck down a part of the law pertaining to states' participation in expanding Medicaid eligibility. The Court ruled that Congress cannot hold hostage existing Medicaid funding in order to compel states to comply with the expansion. If you find this a little confusing, you're not alone.

Karen from Colorado asks us, “What’s a block grant?” She said she’s been hearing that phrase a lot without knowing what it means – or if it’s important. It’s a great question, Karen, because block grants are important. They’re part of the reason a group of nuns recently began the Nuns on the Bus cross-country tour.

Today the Supreme Court upheld nearly all provisions of the Affordable Care Act, the health care reform legislation also referred to as Obamacare. The most controversial part of the law — the individual mandate requiring all Americans to purchase health insurance — was upheld. One part of the law was struck down.

The Supreme Court is expected to announce any day now its ruling on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, the 2010 health care reform legislation. The central question of the case is whether Congress has the authority to require Americans to purchase health insurance.