Question

What are the eligibility requirements and coverage of Medicaid for the categories of low-income adults, pregnant women, and the aging/blind/disabled in the state where you live? Do you consider the eligibility requirements reasonable or restrictive? Do you consider the coverage reasonable or liberal? What are the benefits and drawbacks to keeping these populations insured through Medicaid? Consider both direct and indirect factors.

Answer 1

What are the eligibility requirements and coverage of Medicaid for the categories of low-income adults, pregnant women, and the aging/blind/disabled in the state where you live?

• A pregnant woman must be a resident of the concerned state (Texas), Meet citizenship criteria and household income limits based on household size, which includes the unborn child.
• A child who is eligible for medicaid should be a resient of concerned state, meet citizenship criteria , 18 years or younger, household income limits based on household size Newborns (under 12 months) born to mothers who are Medicaid-certified Health and Human Services Commission at the time of the child’s birth are automatically eligible for Medicaid and remain eligible through the month of their first birthday.
• Social Security Administration sets income eligibility .Monthly income limit for an individual on SSI, known as the federal benefit rate (FBR), is $735 per month with an asset limit of $2,000 in 2017.
• People who are 65 or older , blind, disabled who donot comes under social security administration qualify for Long-term services and supports medicaid through facilities like care homes and community set ups .

Do you consider the eligibility requirements reasonable or restrictive

• Access to medicaid is severely limited for many low-income persons with disabilities
• Eventhough the medicaid has more progresses in giving health coverage many persons with disabilities in poverty have restricted coverage for healthcare
• The disability must be total, not partial; the disability must be expected to be long-term; and the disability must prevent the individual from working at any level. Short-term, temporary disabilities, no matter how severe, do not render an individual eligible for Medicaid or Medicare benefits. Ref:NCBI( Access to Medicaid and Medicare by the low-income disabled)

Do you consider the coverage reasonable or liberal?

Specific income and resource requirements that are determined by each state within federal guidelines.Usually coverage has differences between upper level and lower level income groups.As long as inequalities in income and wealth exists the coverage may be reasonable for lower income and liberal for upper level .

What are the benefits and drawbacks to keeping these populations insured through Medicaid?

Benefits are to decrease the overall mortality and morbidity rates in the country. Increase birth rates and decrease death rates .It improves the public health .Assists in early and periodic screening for illness in children .Helps in decreasing family's burden on spending on longterm care of older people.

Drawbacks are sometimes low income groups can lose the medicaid care due to race, ethnicity , wealth and income based if inequalities exist.