Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
Of the 6.6 million uninsured children in the nation, 4.3 million are eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Approximately 2.8 million children come from families at or near the federal poverty line (FPL). Despite the fact that millions of children are uninsured, children’s participation rates in Medicaid/CHIP are increasing. Today I…
President Obama released a proposal last week to jump start the economy and reduce the deficit. The proposal includes many cuts to Medicare and increased cost sharing. Senators Coburn and Lieberman are supporting these cuts. Increased cost sharing is a common theme in Medicare, Medicaid, but also for other programs as well. For instance, the…
As the economy worsened, Medicaid enrollment has risen. In the short-run, however, States have been able to avoid large increases in Medicaid spending because the Federal government has footed the tab. According to the HHS: “Over the past three years, despite rising enrollment due to the economic recession, nationwide State spending on the Medicaid program…
The California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) reviews how California’s safety net residents receive medical care. Safety Net patients are considered those who have incomes below 300% of the federal poverty line. Below is a list of governmental and non-governmental programs which serve California Safety Net residents. State: Medi-cal (California’s Medicaid program) and Healthy Families (California’s CHIP…
“Across the nation, sizeable and forceful groups–a Medicaid medical industrial complex–support welfare medicine, many of them becoming entirely or partially dependent on its funding for their financial viability. Their reliance on the low-income health program puts them at risk of adverse political decisions, but also drives them to exert disproportionate influence over policymakers. Vested interests–professionals,…
Health Reform, also known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), drastically altered the health care landscape. Congress included health exchanges, and individual mandate, and a number of other reforms into the bill. Today, I focus on how Health Reform will affect existing programs which care for the nations poor. In particular, CHIP…