Medicaid Cuts Would Affect Older, Sicker Americans
<p>The debate over repeal of the Affordable Care Act has raised questions about who Medicaid covers and how well it helps them. In a new <em>To the Point </em>post, The Commonwealth Fund’s Jamie Ryan and Melinda Abrams reveal that nearly half of adults with Medicaid are 50 or older, and many have multiple chronic conditions, behavioral health problems, or physical limitations or disabilities. Any changes to the Medicaid program, they say, could disproportionately affect many of the neediest, sickest Americans.</p><p>Drawing on Commonwealth Fund survey data, Ryan and Abrams show how Medicaid coverage makes health care more affordable for people who often struggle to make ends meet. Because of Medicaid, cost is less likely to be an obstacle to care for older, sicker adults than it is for those with other insurance or no insurance at all.</p>
http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/newsletters/ealerts/2017/apr/medicaid-cuts-would-affect-older-sicker-americans Read the post