Medical Assistance Programs
Introduction
Welfare or Public Aid provides a minimal level of comfort, and social support for all citizens. The Medical Assistance Program is designed to provide Illinois residents access to quality healthcare. To qualify you must meet some financial criteria, residency requirements, and in most cases you must be a citizen. Another qualification requirement is the person has to be either blind, disabled or aged 65 or older, or have children under the age of 19 or be pregnant (“Medical assistance programs”).
Literature Review
The Medical Assistance Program has generated a lot of political sides, and debates on whether the government should maintain spending on programs to help the poor, or take the steps to reduce the government’s spending on their budget deficit. Seven in ten (69%) of people say it is more important to maintain current Social Security, and Medicare benefits than to reduce the deficient, while 59% prioritize keeping the current levels of spending for programs for the poor and needy over deficit reduction (“In deficit debate”, 2013). Two-thirds of Americans say the country has not made any progress in reducing the budget deficit. Usually the public supports spending cuts, and tax increases in order to reduce the federal budget, and most people say the best way to reduce it is to cut some major programs, and have some tax increases. The primary focus should be on spending cuts not on anything else. The feelings on budget cuts and spending cuts are divided among democrats, and republicans.
History
Welfare in the United States commonly refers to the federal government welfare programs that have been put in place to assist the unemployed or underemployed. Help is stretched out t...
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...dical assistance. DHS. Retrieved March 3, 2014, from https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=44574
Golden, N.G. (2006). Pregnancy and maternity leave: Taking baby steps towards effective policies. Journal of Law & Family Studies, 8, 1-38
In deficit debate, public resists cut in entitlements and aid to poor. (2013, December 19). Pew Research Center for the People and the Press RSS. Retrieved March 3, 2014, from http://www.people-press.org/2013/12/19/in-deficit-debate-public-resists-cuts-in-entitlements-and-aid-to-poor/
Medical assistance programs. (n.d.). DHS:. Retrieved from https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=30359
Welfare information. (2014). US Welfare System. Retrieved March 3, 2014, from http://www.welfareinfo.org/
Ybarra, M. (2013). Implications of paid family leave for welfare participants. National Association of Social Workers. doi: 10.1093
Welfare can be defined as “systems by which government agencies provide economic assistance, goods, and services to persons who are unable to care for themselves” (Issitt). The United States welfare system is an extremely complex and unique entity that encompasses ideas and concepts from an abundance of different places. Many people believe the current system is an excellent resource for the population, while others believe the current welfare system requires reform and budget cuts to become effective.
This mini-paper will discuss the social welfare system. The mini-paper includes a discussion of welfare Policy, residual and institutional approach, and what is Social Welfare and Social Security. Midgely, (2009), pointed out that social welfare systems deliver services that facilitate and empower our society, especially to those persons who require assistance in meeting their basic human needs. The goal of social welfare is to provide social services to citizens from diverse cultures, and examples include Medicare, Medicaid, and food benefits. Midgley,( 2009).
When speaking about Welfare we try to avoid it, turning welfare into an unacceptable word. In the Article “One Nation On Welfare. Living Your Life On The Dole” by Michael Grunwald, his point is to not just only show but prove to the readers that the word Welfare is not unacceptable or to avoid it but embrace it and take advantage of it. After reading this essay Americans will see the true way of effectively understanding the word welfare, by absorbing his personal experiences, Facts and Statistics, and the repetition Grunwald conveys.
O?Beirne, Kate. ?The State of Welfare: An old and tricky question resurfaces.? National Review 54.2 (February 11, 2002): 1--2. Online. Information Access Expanded
During the study of various reforms that were proposed and denied, both the GOP and Democrats attempted to find a balance that would guarantee the success of their proposals. Years of research, growing ideologies, political views and disregard for the country's constitution sparked an array of alternatives to solve the country's healthcare spending. The expenditure of US healthcare dollars was mostly due to hospital reimbursements, which constitute to 30% (Longest & Darr, 2008). During the research for alternatives, the gr...
Welfare is a federally funded program that provides health care, food stamps, child care assistance, unemployment, cash aid, and housing that is under the umbrella of TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). Per Welfare Information, eligibility is determined by net income, family size, and any crisis situation such as: pregnancy, homelessness, and unemployment. TANF also requires the recipient to obtain employment within two years of receiving help (2014). A majority of the monies that support Welfare come from taxes paid by the working class and donations from private companie...
What exactly is Medicaid? Medicaid is the largest health insurance in the United States, and it services many low-income families. This government health program is state regulated and varies among states due to having their own guidelines. Medicaid was signed into law on July the 30th, 1965. Medicaid’s guidelines come from the old Welfare law. “Medicaid has never matched that of food stamps, for which eligibility standards are linked to financial need alone. As Smith and Moore explains, the federal government, using its extraordinary demonstration powers under section 1115 of the Social Security Act, has allowed states to experiment with “decategorization” over the years, but Medicaid’s statutory bar against coverage of poor adults remains perhaps its most obvious failure” (Rosenbaum). Regardless of the many faults of this programs design, Medicaid helps close to 60 million low-income families in the United States. The people it helps would include: pregnant women, young children and their parents, the disabled, and the elderly, and other members of society that have low income. Medicaid is involved in many pregnancies and newborn care from a financial standpoint. It allows parents to have medical care for the child while in a low-income household. Medicaid has a huge impact on each states health systems and is used in a wide variety of ways.
In today’s America, there are many people who would either be disgusted at the very mention of Welfare or be highly grateful for its existence. I believe that in order for welfare to be more effective in America, there must be reform. From the time of its inceptions in 1935, welfare has lent a helping hand to many in crisis (Constitution Rights Foundation). However, at present many programs within the system are being abused and the people who are in real need are being cheated out of assistance. The year after the creation of welfare unemployment was just about twenty percent (Unemployment Statistics). The need for basic resources to survive was unparallel. Today, many people face the same needs as many did during the 30s. Some issues with
Harris, Kathleen. “Work and Welfare Among Single Mothers in Poverty.” The American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 99 Sept. 1993. 317-52.
Medicaid supports children who are under the age of nineteen, people over the age of sixty five, enrollees who are disabled and those that need permanent nursing home care. Potential beneficiaries can find an application for Medicaid at their State’s Medicaid agency (Medicare.gov, 2008).
Medicaid is an assistance program for low-income people regardless of age. A federally mandated program, Medicaid is run by state and local governments under the established federal guidelines. Income and resource levels are the primary means for each state to determine eligibility with the level varying from state to state. Eligibility is also affected by other factors such as age, whether you are pregnant, if you are blind or have other disabilities, and U.S. citizenship or lawful immigration status. Some states req...
Recently women’s rights and women’s equality in the workplace has come back to the fore as a topic for discussion in government agencies and the United Nations. Whilst this is a very important topic, when it comes to time off from work when a new child is born, women in the US have some provision, whereas men have none.
Imagine you were pregnant, When you gave birth to your child, the only maternity leave you received was a month’s worth of vacation and sick time. And when you went to return to work, you found your job no longer existed. Since your employer was a small company, it didn’t have to go by federal laws that require 12 weeks of job protection after birth. This story is fictional, but it is real for so many. In America, there is no federal mandated paid maternity leave and that is hurting our women and our children by causing the miracle of birth to be masked by the all too real cost of no paid maternity leave.
Bringing a new baby into the world is one life changing experience. The lives of both the mother and the father are changed tremendously as they begin to learn to raise a child by trial and error. Maternity leave for mothers of newborns is never disagreeable; when it comes to paternity leave, however, it becomes one of the most controversial topics of the workforce. Reasons for maternity leaves and paternity leaves are both justifiable. Men should have the opportunity to take paternity leave from their jobs so that they can be a helping hand to the mother, have a chance to bond with their newborn child, and help bridge the gap in gender equality in the workplace without the stigma and criticism. After the birth of the child, women can become emotionally and physically fatigued, so men take an important role as care giver and supporter, especially in the first few weeks. If a father has an opportunity to stay home for the first couple of weeks, to care for both the mother and his new child, it will make a big impact for the family.
It is time we stop treating child care as a side issue or a women’s issue, and treat it like the priority that it is. Paternity leave is good for women's careers. “When childcare responsibilities fall exclusively on the mother, the effect is to reduce women’s wages. Time out of the labor force deprives women of experience and promotions. When men shoulder more of the childcare burden, the effect is lessened (“The Benefits of Paternity Leave”).” Paid family leave has become an important way to signal to employees that the company is invested in them. People feel their company is committed to them in the long term. Overall, paid family leave helps keep people in the workforce after they have children. “When more workers are able to take leave, they are more likely to choose to remain in the labor market. Paid parental leave is associated with higher employment in economies around the world (Covert)”.