Honors Blog #1

With the recession, millions of previously covered people now depend on Medicaid to take care of them and their families. “Today, Medicaid, which was enacted in 1965, primarily serves children, pregnant women and the aged and disabled.” Medicaid covers people with low income and who meet certain eligibility criteria. It can also cover children regardless if there parents/guardians are eligible to be covered. This program, which is funded by both the Federal and State governments, covers a larger group of people than Medicare does. Medicaid is the most significant element of health care legislations because it covers a wide range of people and requires the federal and state governments to work together to fund it.

Medicaid relies on the cooperation between the Federal and State governments. “Although the Federal government establishes general guidelines for the program, the Medicaid program requirements are actually established by each State. Whether or not a person is eligible for Medicaid will depend on the State where he or she lives.” The recession and new health care bill have put extra strain on the budgets states have for Medicaid. The Federal government gave stimulus money to states on the condition they can not lower eligibility limits. This agreement has lead to states turning more towards improving efficiency and increasing the quality of care as they can’t cut many more benefits than they already have

“The government expects the Medicaid expansion to account for about half of the 32 million uninsured people who are projected to gain coverage because of the new law.” This program encompasses a greater amount of people than Medicare does, as Medicare is mostly for people over the age of 65. As the amount of life people are now able to live continues to get longer, and with unemployment as high as it is, more and more people are turning to Medicaid for help in their desperate times for longer periods of time than in the past. Medicaid is the most significant element of health care legislation in history because more people depend on it for basic health needs than other programs. If Medicaid were to end, millions of people would have no way of getting medical attention they need.

Works cited:
http://www.cms.gov/MedicaidGenInfo/
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/01/health/policy/01medicaid.html?_r=1
http://www.cms.gov/MedicaidEligibility/Downloads/MedicaidataGlance05.pdf