Medicaid Approaches the Half Century Mark

Fifty years ago this July, President Johnson signed legislation establishing the Medicaid program. The program provides health coverage to low income individuals and families. It also provides coverage to individuals who meet certain income and asset requirements and who (1) are elderly or blind or (2) have one or more disabilities. The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) recently released a report that provides an overview of Medicaid’s history and milestones, as well as facts and figures regarding Medicaid recipient demographics, access to services, etc., including the following:

• 37% of children and 64% of nursing home residents in the U.S. are currently covered by Medicaid;
• of the total individuals enrolled in Medicaid (68 million), 48% are children, 27% are low-income adults, 9% are elderly, and 15% have disabilities;
• services for individuals with disabilities account for 42% of overall Medicaid spending followed by services for elderly individuals (21%), children (15%), and low-income adults (15%); and
• the amount of Medicaid long-term care that goes to home and community based services increased significantly from 2002 (32%) to 2013 (46%) (the rest of the long-term care expenditures are used for institutional services).

Click here to read more in the full KFF report.