Tuesday, September 30, 2008

A Medicaid Primer and Proposal

By John LaPlante

Categories: Medicaid

The Heritage Foundation offers a new review of the scope and troubles of Medicaid.

"Medicaid is a paradox.

It is criticized as both too stingy and too generous; comprehensive but incomplete; unreliable yet essential; too complex and too inflexible; a program that is both shunned and embraced by individuals and providers.

Medicaid promises rich benefits but restricts access, promotes welfare dependency, and creates new inequities among working families who pay for a welfare program."

Dennis G. Smith recommends turning the program into one of premium assistance, enabling individuals to purchase coverage in the non-governmental market.