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This issue brief provides an overview of Medicaid’s medically needy program; describes how it works for persons with disabilities, the elderly, and low-income families; and highlights some key issues surrounding the program. Included in the paper are hypothetical examples of ways in which individuals can qualify for the medically needy program and are intended for illustrative purposes only.
States are grappling with a fiscal crisis that threatens funding for Medicaid, the federal-state partnership that provides health coverage for low-income populations. Two new studies shed light on the impact of an increasingly popular strategy – prior authorization – being used to control prescription drug spending. In fiscal year 2003, some 21 states are planning to expand or create prior authorization systems where the state must provide pre-approval before selected drugs can be dispensed to Medicaid enrollees.
This report illustrates the financial stakes for Medicare beneficiaries when making choices about supplemental insurance coverage, by examining how much people on Medicare could spend out-of-pocket including premiums and other cost-sharing requirements under different supplemental insurance options. To assess the cost implications of choosing between different Medigap and Medicare+Choice insurance options, the research team estimated the range in health care expenditures associated with three prototypical beneficiaries (a 50 year-old man with disabilities, a relatively healthy 65 year-old woman, and a frail 80 year-old woman) within and across eight distinct geographic areas. Cost comparison included four standardized Medigap plans (A, F, H, and J) and any of up to five Medicare+Choice HMO options available in each geographic area all in comparison with choosing no supplemental coverage at all.
The Pew Hispanic Center/Kaiser Family Foundation 2002 National Survey of Latinos examines how members of the Hispanic community identify themselves, their views of the United States, their experiences with discrimination both within the Latino community itself and from non-Latino groups, their language abilities and preferences, their economic and financial situations and their experiences within the health care system.
2002 National Survey of Latinos
The Pew Hispanic Center/Kaiser Family Foundation 2002 National Survey of Latinos examines how members of the Hispanic community identify themselves, their views of the United States, their experiences with discrimination both within the Latino community itself and from non-Latino groups, their language abilities and preferences, their economic and financial situations and their experiences within the health care system.
This report is an overview of how seven states (California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Washington) coped with budgetary problems and how these problems impacted Medicaid and SCHIP.
This report describes the findings of a December 2002 50-state survey update on state budgets and Medicaid spending trends for fiscal year 2003.
State Budget Constraints: The Impact on Medicaid
This fact sheet summarizes the relationship of Medicaid with state budgets and discusses the current fiscal challenges in the states and how it is affecting Medicaid programs.
This report includes case studies of how seven states (California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Washington) coped with budgetary problems and how these problems impacted Medicaid and SCHIP.
Simplified Eligibility for Children’s Medicaid in Texas: A Status Report at Nine Months
This report describes the initial success of Texas new law in removing barriers to children’s Medicaid participation and provides the baseline information needed to observe and interpret how the next phase of implementation, the EPSDT mandate, will enhance or undermine the goal of broader coverage of Medicaid-eligible children in Texas.