National Medicaid Case Study

There are many key factors to consider when juxtaposing the ideas of a national Medicaid program and 56 different state and territorial programs. These include the role of government, the effectiveness in meeting local needs and financial obligations, flexibility in seeking innovative resolutions, the impacts on healthcare providers and access to care, the improvements in service quality, and the ability to overcome resistance to change, among many others.
The first consideration is the role of the government in the distribution of care. The federal and state governments have a shared responsibility to ensure that people are provided with appropriate healthcare services and insured against catastrophic incidents. The Medicaid program, created in 1965 as part of the Social Security Act, is currently the largest publicly-funded health program, yet many are still left uninsured. The political issues surrounding Medicaid are complex and multidimensional, where many stakeholders lobby for conflicting political actions in their own interests. These stakeholders affect public …show more content…
The system of care currently implemented by the United States is an aggregation of programs created to target subpopulations with specific concerns. This model allows policymakers to address smaller communities with likeminded goals and needs. Medicaid serves over 70 million people, providing them with insurance and relatively inexpensive benefits. Medicaid funds many health centers, hospitals, and long-term care facilities in low-income areas, but many more providers refuse to see Medicaid patients due to lower payment rates. Federally standardized reimbursement rates might ensure fair payments for providers and accessible and affordable care for beneficiaries, but one national program may not meet the patient needs and financial conditions of each