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Since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid nearly 45 years ago, the government has separated acute medical care from personal assistance and long-term care, placing many of the most vulnerable people in the nation at risk. An obscure provision of the Senate health bill attempts to crack that barrier.
Over the next few weeks, as the House and Senate forge a compromise between their respective health care reform bills, most of the attention will be on the high-profile issues like abortion and taxes. But there are myriad other issues that, although less visible to the public, could go a long way towards determining the success of health care reform. High on this list is the seemingly technical question of what Medicaid pays primary care physicians.
Despite the economic downturn that's busting budgets, 26 states this year made it easier for low-income children, parents or pregnant women to get health coverage.
Consumer advocates and others say it will only become harder for low-income Kansans to get medical services now that the state is cutting Medicaid payments by 10 percent.
Pay attention to the CLASS Act. It can not only provide better long-term care for those who so desperately need this assistance, it can also become a new way to help those in need in an era of $1 trillion-plus budget deficits. But only if it is done right.
Some say moving kids from the Children's Health Insurance Program to health exchanges would add stability, but others fear they could lose benefits and their families could face higher co-payments for coverage.
Legislation approved by the House Saturday would bar insurers from selling policies that cover abortion if purchased with federal subsidies. There are already states that have similar policies.
With the pressure of a severe budget crisis, California officials have made tough cuts to health services once deemed vital. Funds for dental clinics, foot and eye care, hearing aids, mental health care and other services long covered under the state's Medicaid program have been slashed.
With growing signs that health reform bills would do little to "bend the cost curve," Sens. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., and Kent Conrad, D-N.D., want a bipartisan commission to control future Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security costs.
A list of some vital statistics about children's oral health and dental insurance.
All of the Democratic health proposals would expand children's dental care - a serious need. Currently about twice as many children are without dental coverage as those without medical coverage. At the same time, some insurance experts worry that the legislation may have unintended consequences, disrupting adult coverage.
We are not ready for healthy retirement, and we are desperately unprepared for the costly medical and long-term care we are likely to need in old age.
Both the House and Senate health care proposals would expand Medicaid eligibility to about 133 percent of the federal poverty level. Although the measures would help the states cover the costs, governors are worried that the additional federal money simply won't be enough. KHN's Mary Agnes Carey offers her insight.
When Gracie Scarrow, 94, was diagnosed with congestive heart failure she didn't have the money to pay for the care she needed. With her daughter Lela's help, Gracie turned to Medicaid. The program pays for her nursing home, and they couldn't be happier with the care.
As a part of our "Are You Covered?" series, KHN and NPR examine how a health overhaul would affect Medicaid recipients.
In not too many years, long-term care nursing home beds may be as rare as Republicans in Massachusetts.
While Washington lawmakers are discussing an expansion of Medicaid, Arizona is having trouble paying for the program at its current level. The state has one of the highest Medicaid rates in the country, with about 1 out of every 5 residents covered by the program for the poor. This story comes from our partner
While states and the federal government struggle to update Medicaid though a maze of waiver programs and patches to an increasingly outdated law, their efforts are a little like trying to add disc breaks and electronic ignition to a 1965 Plymouth. It is, in the end, still a 1965 Plymouth.
An agreement between the House leadership and conservative Democrats sparked protests from states worried about higher Medicaid costs and liberals upset about the paring back of subsidies.
There are two separate problems that led to the shortage of health care workers to treat the elderly and disabled.
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