Working with Medicaid
Working with Medicaid
Cassi Covalt
To be eligible for Medicaid, certain guidelines have to be met that include requirements for people with low incomes. Each state has its own unique set of guidelines for determining an individual’s eligibility and services for Medicaid. Some of the factors evaluated include blindness, disability, age, and pregnancy, access to resources like bank accounts and property, and citizenship status (a legal immigrant or U.S. citizen). How income and resources are evaluated is different in each state and among each group of people. Children’s eligibility is determined from the child’s status and does not take the parent(s) into consideration. For disabled children who live at home and people who reside in nursing homes, special rules exist.
Medicaid has the capability to send a bill to a patient himself or herself if that person receives a service that there is no coverage for in the eligibility group to which that person belongs. The patient might also have to pay a small co-pay for certain services, again based on the rules of the state of residence. Virtually all emergency services are covered for patients with Medicaid.
With the state and federal involvements in insurance at the same time, states are aided with regulations—they follow federal guidelines, like the poverty guideline (used to determine poverty for the purpose of welfare programs) while simultaneously allowing the creation of a plan and the specification of eligibility factors unique to each state. If a person is unable to qualify for Medicaid, he or she might qualify for state programs that do not receive federal
Cassi Covalt
To be eligible for Medicaid, certain guidelines have to be met that include requirements for people with low incomes. Each state has its own unique set of guidelines for determining an individual’s eligibility and services for Medicaid. Some of the factors evaluated include blindness, disability, age, and pregnancy, access to resources like bank accounts and property, and citizenship status (a legal immigrant or U.S. citizen). How income and resources are evaluated is different in each state and among each group of people. Children’s eligibility is determined from the child’s status and does not take the parent(s) into consideration. For disabled children who live at home and people who reside in nursing homes, special rules exist.
Medicaid has the capability to send a bill to a patient himself or herself if that person receives a service that there is no coverage for in the eligibility group to which that person belongs. The patient might also have to pay a small co-pay for certain services, again based on the rules of the state of residence. Virtually all emergency services are covered for patients with Medicaid.
With the state and federal involvements in insurance at the same time, states are aided with regulations—they follow federal guidelines, like the poverty guideline (used to determine poverty for the purpose of welfare programs) while simultaneously allowing the creation of a plan and the specification of eligibility factors unique to each state. If a person is unable to qualify for Medicaid, he or she might qualify for state programs that do not receive federal