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Medicaid Programs

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Introduction

Medicaid is not an easy system to understand. Both federal and state governments fund the program jointly. In addition to the funding, federal and state governments work jointly to organize Medicaid programs. However, individual states are responsible for the functionality of Medicaid programs. With the newly incorporated Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Medicaid programs will see some changes. These changes are likely to result in a greater number of insured Americans without an unreasonable additional strain on Medicaid programs themselves.

How Medicaid is Financed

Medicaid helps allow access to health care for people with certain disabilities and families with low incomes. Both federal and state governments finance Medicaid (Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, 2011) unlike Medicare, which is funded exclusively by the federal government. Even though Medicaid is a jointly funded program, state governments operate, organize and administer the Medicaid program. Nevertheless, states must create a Medicaid program that complies with federal regulations and standards in order to receive federal funding for the program (Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, 2011).
How much a state receives depends on the states' per capita income (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services - Financing & Reimbursement, n.d.). Wealthier states receive a 1:1 matching (50%) from the federal government while poorer states receive a higher matching from the federal government (up to 82%) with the average federal funding match being approximately 57% (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services - Financing & Reimbursement, n.d.). Therefore, for every $1 the more affluent states contribute, the federal governmen...

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...ects of the Affordable Care Act on Workers’ Health Insurance Coverage. New England Journal of Medicine, 363 (15), 1393-1395. Retrieved and viewed on February 5, 2014 from: http://healthpolicyandreform.nejm.org/?p=12339

Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (2011). Federal Core Requirements and State Options in Medicaid: Current Policies and Key Issues. Retrieved and viewed on February 4, 2014 from: http://kaiserfamilyfoundation.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/8174.pdf

(3)Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (2013). Medicaid and its Role in State/Federal Budgets & Health Reform. Retrieved and viewed on February 3, 2014 from: http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/8162.pdf

Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (2010). The Medicaid Program at a Glance. Retrieved and viewed on February 3, 2014 from: http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/7235-04.pdf
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