Medicaid and CHIP: Government Health Care Assistance Programs



Medicaid and CHIP: Government Health Care Assistance Programs

Introduction

The Social Security Amendments of 1965 signed by President Johnson on July 30, 1965 introduced the insurance programs Medicare and Medicaid. This legislative act, more popularly known as Medicare, was implemented to help in improving a variety of medical and health services for the common American (LBJ Presidential Library, 2012). To date since its inception, the Medicaid program is jointly funded by both forms of government (federal and state). The state government receives a stipend from the federal government of a specified percentage of its expenditures on Medicaid, known as the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2013). The percent of federal assistance provided varies by state, from as low as 50% (in wealthier states) to as high as 75% (in low socioeconomic states). This aid is adjusted on a cycle of every three years taking into account inflation and changes within the states' and country's economy (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2013). Since 1965, many changes have occurred within the program. One of the significant changes is the introduction of CHIP.

Discussion

CHIP

The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) assists in coverage to children of low income families that are unable to qualify for Medicaid since 1997. To date, it has nearly 8 million participants, and like Medicaid is a program that is mutually funded by the federal and state governments. The rate of funding provided by the federal government for CHIP is on average 15% higher than the rate provided for Medicaid to each state (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2013). Medicaid and CHIP benefit a wide variety of Americans and provide support services to various individuals.

Demographics

The Medicaid program assists individuals of all racial backgrounds (see Table 1).

Table 1: ...