US News & World Report
July 30, 2015
By Kimberly Leonard,
Health care in America has not been the same since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed legislation establishing Medicare and Medicaid on July 30, 1965. Since then, the government has spent billions of dollars into health care that has led to better care, but also the constant need to re-evaluate so the government can ensure that people are receiving the proper coverage. Today, 17 percent of the American population receives Medicare or Medicaid benefits, roughly 56 million people.
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Children who are on Medicaid develop into healthier teenagers and adults, according to a report published Tuesday by the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute.
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Medicaid started covering nursing home care for low-income seniors in 1971 and today pays for half of the country’s long-term care. Joan Alker, executive director at the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute, says the program’s involvement in nursing home care is an example of how Medicaid has evolved to fill critical gaps in the health care system. “It is an entitlement program with guaranteed funding, so it can adapt,” she says.
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