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Medicaid Coverage
What are the eligibility requirements and coverage of Medicaid for the categories of low-income adults, pregnant women, and the aging/blind/disabled in the state where you live? Do you consider the eligibility requirements reasonable or restrictive? Do you consider the coverage reasonable or liberal? What are the benefits and drawbacks to keeping these populations insured through Medicaid? Consider both direct and indirect factors.
Example.
More adults than ever before are eligible for Medicaid in many states, allowing those who may have been denied coverage in the past to apply again. According to Cindy Man, director of the center for Medicaid and CHIP services, "family members can get medically necessary preventative care, doctor visits, mental health care, hospital stays, needed medication, and more once they are enrolled." A federal and state entitlement program that pays medical assistance for certain low income and resources individuals and families with special emphasis on children, pregnant women, the elderly, the disabled, and parents with dependent children who have no other way to pay for health care was established in Title 19 of the 1965 Social Security Act (Livingston, 2002). Medicaid is the program's official federal name. Health Insurance Basics says that the federal government contributes about half of the cost, and the state pays the rest after choosing who to cover and what benefits to provide. Medicaid is the largest source of funding for medical and health-related services for low-income Americans, many of whom may not have health insurance at all or have inadequate coverage.
