Health Care and Medicaid Eligibility

The Medicaid program is for the indigent families. It’s a program put together by the state and federal government. Being indigent does not necessarily qualify you for Medicaid. Medicaid is the biggest source of funding for medical health services for people with no or limited income. Having limited assets is one of the primary requirements for Medicaid eligibility. Medicaid does not provide all medical assistance for all poor persons (Shi & Singh, 2008). Even under provisions of the federal statute, the Medicaid program does not give services unless you are in a certain group. There are many numbers of Medicaid categories; within each group there are requirements other than income that must be met. These other things include, but not limited to, assets, age, pregnancy, disability, blindness, income and resources, and one’s status as a U.S citizen. Medicaid is jointly financed by the states and the federal government, and is administered by the states within broad federal guidelines. The Medicaid program is monitored by the centers for Medicare and Medicaid (Komar, 2007).

It is the concern of policy makers that Medicaid recipients are more likely to be noncompliant with regards to following a specific medical regimen, including follow-up appointments and are more likely to miss scheduled appointments. Medicaid recipients are more likely to use an emergency department as their usual source of care and more likely to lack continuity in the care they receive. Many medical providers refuse to accept a Medicaid recipient, which has increased the reimbursement in hopes to draw in providers to accepting Medicaid patients.

Many states are shifting to the manage care system in attempts to “mainstream” the welfare system. In this program deservingness and individual responsibility is considered. With the managed care organization (MCO) patients will have to choose a primary care provider and cannot see multiple providers without a referral, cannot go directly to