Medicaid

Medicaid is a joint federal-state program that provides medical care to nearly 70 million low-income individuals nationwide. It is a means-tested program that is managed by the states. People served by Medicaid are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, including low-income adults, their children, and people with certain disabilities. Medicaid has expanded rapidly since its inception in 1965. This could possibly be linked to the program's financial structure, in which the federal government matches state spending. The incentives are so dysfunctional that states have inflated the cost of health care. • State expenditures on Medicaid have increased from 0.2 percent of tax revenues in 1966 to an estimated 21 percent in 2005. • In 1975, 10 percent of the U.S. population was enrolled in Medicaid, by 2008, 19 percent were enrolled. • In FY 2010, Medicaid surpassed elementary and secondary education as the largest component of total state spending. • ObamaCare will add 18 million people to Medicaid rolls. Even without reform, Medicaid spending may increase by as much as 50 percent in 10 years. This is an unsustainable model. State-by-State Insurance Information is available at this site.

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Mending Our Tattered Health Care Safety Net

12/19/23

from Forbes,

11/26/23:

Here’s the good news. We are probably as close to universal health insurance as we are ever likely to be. Only a tiny percent of the uninsured who are lawful U.S. residents lack access to subsidized health insurance. Here’s the bad news. Families at the bottom of the income ladder find that as their income goes up and down and as their job opportunities ebb and flow, they bounce back and forth among eligibility for Medicaid, eligibility for subsidized insurance in the Obamacare exchanges, eligibility for employer-provided coverage and sometimes eligible for none of the above. Consider these headlines:

Infant Mortality Rises for the First Time in 20 Years
For Those Without College Degrees, Life Expectancy Reached Its Peak Around 2010 and Has Been Falling Ever Since
Almost Four in Ten Medicaid Enrollees Delay Care Because of Cost
Traffic to Emergency Rooms Is Higher Than Ever. The Average Wait Time Is 2½ Hours
Patients Wait 13 Hours for Free Health Care

What’s a better answer? Take money already in the system and give everyone a risk-adjusted tax credit to buy long-lasting private coverage in a competitive market. We are already doing that with seniors in Medicare Advantage. Why can’t we do the same for people who are being ill-served by the current system? How to fix our tattered Healthcare system. More From Forbes:

Mending Our Tattered Health Care Safety Net