Medicaid- Guidelines for Healthcare Reform in Florida

Introduction

In this research we will analyze the existing structure of Health care in Florida. This paper is especially focused towards those Floridians who are not able to afford Health care services and reliant primarily on Medicaid services. Medicaid continues to be an enormous part of states' budgets, and when combined with the Medicare program, makes up 4% of the nation's gross domestic product. Medicaid is jointly funded by the federal government and individual states. Each state determines the range of health care services it will provide to low-income families and establishes income eligibility for the program, although all states must agree to minimum standards and benefits. Because the Medicaid system is a complex bureaucracy in every state, families who need this assistance are best served by helping professionals who have a basic understanding of health benefits provided by Medicaid and eligibility requirements.

Medicaid offers essential health care services to weak populations, such as people with low-income, unprivileged and disabled, but similar to the entire health care system, Medicaid must be reformed to emphasize primary and preventive care.“The purpose of this study is to propose viable solutions or guidelines that can aid in resolving the matter of Floridians having to choose between rent, food and medicine.”

Discussion and Analysis

Medicaid, created by federal legislation in 1965, provides health care access to low-income families, the elderly, and persons with disabilities in the United States. Medicaid is the largest public provider of children's health insurance in the United States: More than 28 million children are enrolled, representing 37% of U.S. children, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Medicaid is an important safety net for families who do not have employer-provided health insurance or private insurance. CMS estimates that without this program, more than 40 million persons would not have had access to health care in 2007. Another 16 million persons are expected to be served by Medicaid when all the provisions of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are fully implemented in 2019, although most will be served beginning in 2014 (Holahan, Pp.28).

On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as the health care reform bill. This Act will provide coverage to 32 million uninsured people, 16 million of whom will obtain coverage through Medicaid and CHIP. Beginning in 2014, Medicaid will be guaranteed to persons with income up to 133% of the federal poverty level. In addition, three new mandatory categories of persons will be served under Medicaid: (1) single, childless adults under age 65 who are not disabled; (2) parents; and (3) former foster children less than 26 years of age. A new system of enrollment will ensure that eligible persons can more easily access Medicaid and CHIP (Alker, Pp. 56).

In this paper we will specially focus on the state of Florida regarding Medicaid. In order to improve Medicaid service in Florida, attempts to improve the Medicaid program at the state level ...