1 in 5 Americans Uninsured: The Impact of Medicaid Eligibility - Essay Sample

Introduction

With a population of approximately 328 million, only 1 out of 5 Americans is covered by Medicaid. Majority of these people earn low wages with no emergency way to acquire medical services without paying using cash which at times they lack. Medicaid is a federal and state program that assists in paying medical expenses for people with limited revenue (Gruber, 2003). Originally, Medicaid began as a program that paid health care services for the unemployed. It helped the blind, disabled and families with single parents. Over the years, the program has undergone expansion and covered more people, e.g. children and pregnant women can access this program under high-income limits without the limitation of assets (Furuno, 2004). In Alabama, Medicaid is the most extensive program that offers medical assistance to the underprivileged people in Alabama. Therefore this paper will discuss the benefits of expanding Medicaid in Alabama.

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Every state has several persons who cannot afford to pay their medical expenses. It is the same case in the state of Alabama. In Alabama to be eligible for Medicaid, a person should be pregnant, blind, disable, be 65 years of age or older or is taking care of children under the age of 19 (Al Agili, 2005). According to statistics, the number of senior citizens in Alabama is gradually increasing, and Medicaid can provide health care services including home-based nursing care to these senior citizens while they are in the comfort of their homes. Additionally, Medicare provides health care services to disabled people who are approximately 263,300, enabling them to live as independent members of society (Vladeck, 2003). Therefore, Medicaid should be allowed to expand in Alabama.

Also, it is easy to be part of the program because Medicaid accepts income from any source, for example, pension, employment, retirement, social security disability income and stock dividends etc. Thus, it allows anyone from the community of Alabama without discriminating to be able to access the medical services. Therefore, its expansion in Alabama will result in more medical assistance to people who cannot afford the expensive kinds of treatment programs.

Conclusion

In summary, Medicaid in Alabama comes with a lot of benefits. The program unifies the community through taking care of medical services of all kinds of people without discriminating, and it is affordable to most people from the state of Alabama. Therefore, the program should be allowed to expand in the state of Alabama.

Reference

Gruber, J. (2003). Medicaid. In Means-tested transfer programs in the United States (pp. 15-78). University of Chicago Press.

Furuno, J. P., Gallicchio, L., & Sexton, M. (2004). Cigarette smoking and low maternal weight gain in Medicaid-eligible pregnant women. Journal of Women's Health, 13(7), 770-777.

Vladeck, B. C. (2003). Where the action really is: Medicaid and the disabled. Health Affairs, 22(1), 90-100.

Al Agili, D. E., Bronstein, J. M., & Greene-McIntyre, M. (2005). Access and utilization of dental services by Alabama Medicaid-enrolled children: a parent perspective. Pediatric dentistry, 27(5), 414-421.