title: Medicaid: lessons from a decade.
abstract: Drawing on a decade of analysis and examination of the Medicaid program, this paper assesses what we have learned about Medicaid--its role, its successes, and its setbacks. In the absence of universal coverage for health and long-term care, Medicaid is a critical component of our social safety net, taking on the highest-risk, sickest, and often most expensive populations from private insurance and Medicare. Yet the substantial costs to federal and state governments incurred in filling this role, especially in lean economic times, remain its greatest challenge.
authors.affiliation: Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation and Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rowland
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Tallon
mesh_terms: D005582:Foundations; D006291:Health Policy / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000639:trends*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D008484:Medicaid / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000639:trends*; D017057:Medically Uninsured; D013221:State Health Plans / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000639:trends*; D017664:Uncompensated Care / Q000191:economics; D014481:United States