Medicaid – what you need to know

You need to know basic stuff about Medicaid because:

• Medicaid may well become the model for your health insurance
• It covers more working-age people than any other payment type
• Your state and federal tax dollars pay for Medicaid.

So, here are the basics.

• Medicaid covers one out of five Americans.
• Most Medicaid dollars go to the blind and disabled.
• Medical care for poor adults accounts for a third of Medicaid spend
• Poor kids use a fifth of Medicaid dollars
  
• The rest is mostly for nursing home care for folks with very limited income or assets – in fact, Medicaid is the major payer for nursing home and similar medical care.
• Medicaid expansion (covering people just above the poverty line) is now in place in 34 states (plus D.C.); 2 are implementing, and 3 more are considering expansion.

Lastly, my bet is we’ll have some form of Single Payer within the decade – and Medicaid will be the model.

Article source:Managed Care Matters