Fragmented Democracy

Medicaid is a huge program that touches many lives but is nonetheless poorly understood by both the public and policymakers. Each state has the right to not participate in the Medicaid program, but Medicaid is one of the largest government insurance programs for individuals of all ages whose income and resources are insufficient to pay for health care.

The benefits and drawbacks of having state health programs verses one that is uniform across the country can vary on a broad basis. Medicare and Medicaid are state and federally funded health programs; programs that must be fair and allow access to everyone across the country that are enrolled and eligible to receive such benefits. In addition, these programs have unlimited caps so that there is flexibility to continue financing care without delay. The Medicare program was designed to provide access to health care for those who are not able to afford appropriate health care and meet the needs of vulnerable communities. If it were not for the assistance of the federal government in providing states the necessary funds to continue providing health

Medicaid is a government healthcare program that is designed to provide financial assistance to low-income individuals and families. Even though this program is useful because it makes it easier for people who are living on a low income to get medical care. However, this program is often abused.

The Medicare and Medicaid federal programs were put in place as a way to help the less fortunate. Individuals with severe disabilities or over the age of 65 qualify for Medicare. This program helps them with health coverage, so the disabled and elderly who have Medicare do not have to worry about their medical bills and not going to the hospital when they are sick. Medicaid is a similar program, however, it only applies to low income families who cannot provide for their children. Similar to Medicare, this program covers any health related problems and takes away the worry and troubles that come with hospital bills.

Medicaid is health insurance that covers low income or no income people and families. There are some people that qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. Due to the Medicaid Expansion (Obamacare), 26 states and the District of Columbia have eased some of the income requirements for Medicaid. Anyone below 138% of the federal poverty level is eligible

In this research paper it will identify how Medicaid came about and what Medicaid used for, the different between Medicare and Medicaid, the benefits and disadvantage in the use of Medicaid. Medicaid is a state administrated program that provides medical support for a broad range of people. Medicaid was established in 1965 through the Social Security Act, which was an act to provide for the general welfare by creating a system of senior citizen benefits as well as low income people not all but limited to and by enabling that many states to make more acceptable provision for aged people, blind, dependent and crippled children, maternal and child welfare, and public health. Medicaid program was one of many programs created to

Medicaid is an assistance program. IT serves low-income people of every age. Patients usually pay no part of costs for covered medical expenses. A small co-payment is sometimes required. Medicaid is a federal-state program. It varies from state to state. IT is run by state and local governments within federal guidelines. (HHS.gov, 2014).

Medicaid is a joi8nt federal and state program. It provides health coverage to nearly 60 million Americans including children, pregnant women, seniors, and individuals with disabilities. As well as those people who are eligible to receive federally assisted income. Eligibility does however vary state to state.

Why is Medicaid a huge topic in Texas and how does it relate to me? This is one important question to consider. Well, this paper will help shed light on the matter and illustrate the urgency for such an action. Just recently Texas had an option to extend Medicaid, but hastily decline to expand it. Medicaid expansion was part of the Health Care Reform or also known as the Obama Care; the federal government gave the 52 states an offer to expand the current Medicaid in ways that would include the coverage of more children and lower income adults as well. The latest on the issue is Texas had just agreed on a deal to reinstate Medicaid temporarily. The agreement on the reform has given Texas some time to see how the plan fairs across the other

Medicare is a federal program that makes an authorized privilege to health benefits for the elderly and disabled. It also undermines the right of workers to control their retirement savings and the freedom of elders to control their own health care. On the other hand, Medicaid creates an entitlement to health benefits for the poor. While I realized that Medicaid and Medicare were federal programs offered by the U.S. government, I did not know whether some states expanded or restricted Medicaid/Medicare. For this issue analysis, I set out to discover more data about how some states react towards the extension/restriction of Medicaid/Medicare. Questions I hope to answer through my research incorporate the following: How does Medicaid/Medicare benefit or harm the government/society? What are the actions of certain states that chose to neglect or bolster Medicaid/Medicare? What laws/acts have been proposed to support Medicaid/Medicare?

Medicaid financing has become an increasing issue for most states throughout the years. The Government Accountability Office (2010) reported that forty-seven of the states as well as the District of Columbia had concerns regarding the sustainability of their program. Around 16% of the state budgets go towards Medicaid each year, totaling around $183 billion (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 2015). A significant share of vulnerable populations relies on Medicaid for medical coverage. Rocco, Gellad, & Donohue (2015) estimated that of the

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) highlighted the importance Medicaid played in insuring every American receive healthcare coverage. (42 U.S.C., 2010) Medicaid provides health benefits to over 71 million across the country. While involvement is optional, all 50 states participate in the program and requirements differ across the nation. The flexibility given to each state has allowed them to make their own decisions to work towards improvements that they believe would best benefit their region (Feldstein, 2015, p. 125-126).

Variability: First, Medicare is more or less the same in every state, but Medicaid rules vary widely state

Medicaid is a social health care program that covers nearly 60 million Americans, including children, pregnant women, seniors, parents and individuals suffering with disabilities. Medicaid is the biggest source of funding for health related services and medical needs for the people with low income in the United States. This program is funded jointly by the state and federal level governments, but it is the state’s responsibility to manage this program. The Medicaid program is not a required program that states have to use, but all 50 states have implemented this program. With the introduction of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and its passing in 2010, the ACA unveiled its plans to expand Medicaid eligibility to nearly all low-income adults as an addition to the other groups that fall into the Medicaid eligibility. The Medicaid program had “many gaps in coverage for adults” because it was only restricted to the low income individuals and other people with needs in their own specific category. In the past, the majority of the states who had adults that did not have children dependent on those parents were not eligible for Medicaid. These low income adults without dependent children would be without medical insurance assistance before the ACA was introduced. Medicaid is now available to all Americans under the age of 65 whose family income is at or below the federal poverty guideline of “133 percent or $14,484 for an individual and $29,726 for a family of four in 2011” (NSCL).

Medicare and Medicaid are two of the United States largest broken systems, which must sustain themselves in order to provide care to their beneficiaries. Both Medicare and Medicaid are funding by a joint effort between the federal government and the local state government. If and when these governments choose to cut funding or reduce spending, Medicare and Medicaid take the biggest hit. Most people see these two benefits as one in the same, two benefits the government takes out of their pay check to help fund health care. While the government does deduct a sum from paychecks everywhere, Medicare and Medicaid are very two very different programs.