The Future of Medicaid

Abstract

Medicaid, the US federal-state financed program that assists people to gain access to health services when they cannot afford them, is in peril. Some of the recently defeated proposals to change financing of the program, the shift to managed care, and massive state deficits all threaten to limit optional and Home- and Community-Based Waiver Services to people with long-term care requirements. This policy research paper will explore some current myths about Medicaid, what states are doing to reduce Medicaid expenditures, and propose 10 principles and observations that should shape a response from the disability community to efforts to shrink Medicaid.