Medicaid: What Does It Do, and Can We Do It Better?. Issue 1 (November 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Currie, Janet; Duque, Valentina
• Other Names: Moffitt Robert A. guest-editor.; Ziliak James P. guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Volume 686:Issue 1(2019)
• Page Start: 148
• Page End: 179
• Publication Date: 2019-11
• Subjects: Medicaid -- health insurance -- health care -- medical care -- health policy; Social sciences -- Periodicals; Social sciences -- United States -- Periodicals; Political science -- Periodicals; United States -- Politics and government -- Periodicals; 300
• DOI: 10.1177/0002716219874772
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0002-7162

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the Medicaid program and summarizes the evidence about its effectiveness in terms of providing insurance and promoting health. The evidence shows that Medicaid has improved the lives of low-income people since its creation in 1965. Expansions in Medicaid have led to increases in coverage and access to medical care, reductions in medical debt, and improvements in health outcomes with little evidence of significant reductions in beneficiaries' labor supply. Yet there are concerns around the program's high and increasing costs, the quality of care provided, and difficulty accessing Medicaid-funded care. We discuss some of the proposed Medicaid reforms meant to address these problems in light of previous evidence.