Journal Article

Medicaid-the need for reform

Abstract: Recent administration proposals to address the rising cost of Medicaid will do little to contain costs or truly reform the program. The primary issues are the large differences among state Medicaid programs in coverage and benefits and the programs high and rising costs. In this paper, we describe and develop several options for Medicaid reform that would expand coverage, provide fiscal relief to states, shift responsibility for some or all of the cost of dual eligibles to the federal government, and eliminate or restructure the disproportionate share programs. A number of other issues are addressed, including Medicaid cost containment and the federal matching rate structure.

Keywords: Medicaid; Health care reform;

Status: Published in Selected papers of a conference co-hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis; the Center for Health Policy at Washington University in St. Louis; and the Missouri Foundation for Health - June 8, 2007

Bibliographic Information

Provider: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Part of Series: Regional Economic Development

Publication Date: 2007

Issue: Oct

Pages: 12-21