Medicaid 101

I've tried to give a short crash course in Medicaid here, not necessarily to immense popular acclaim. Folks at the Commonwealth Fund also feel the need for the people to know, so here are a few facts to know and tell:

Commonwealth Fund newsletter

Here's how it starts:

Oh, the inscrutable Medicaid program. Governors look at it, and don't understand. The public hears passing mention of it in the news, and gets the wrong idea. Rugged individualists think they can bring it to heel, and it jumps up and bites them. Politicians think they can ignore it, but find it bleeds profusely when cut. As congressional debate over the program's future heats up, politicians, the public, the press and even policy wonks and providers are all getting a crash course in the mysteries of Medicaid and its unsuspected role undergirding the entire U.S. health care system.