Medicaid Makes a Difference; Should Remain a Top Priority for Legislators
Providing health care to nearly one in five Marylanders, Medicaid is crucially important to the state’s wellbeing and more than earns the protection legislators gave the program this year.
Medicaid – which recently turned 50 years old – enables low-income seniors, children, and people with disabilities to get medical care they otherwise couldn’t afford. So it helps them be valuable contributors to the state economy.
Almost 1 million Marylanders participate in Medicaid, a joint state and federal program. Because of Medicaid one of every three children in the state can see a doctor when they are sick, and receive the vaccinations and screenings they need to increase their chances of good health, thanks to Medicaid.
Medicaid, along with the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), has significantly reduced the number of children nationwide whose families lack health insurance. In Maryland, 95.6 percent of children are now insured; and since the recent expansion of Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act, the rate of adults without insurance has declined 5.1 percent.
Despite arguments sometimes used by opponents of Medicaid, it is more cost effective than private insurers. Medicaid’s cost per enrollee is 27.1 percent less for children and 20.4 percent lower for adults. In addition, Medicaid spending has grown more slowly than the cost of private insurance, increasing just 1.1 percent since 2007 compared to 4.4 percent growth among private insurers.
Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Fully funding Medicaid should remain a priority for legislators regardless of the fiscal climate. Back in January, the governor’s proposed budget threatened to cut Medicaid spending, which would have meant fewer Marylanders could get health care. However, through a bipartisan effort the General Assembly secured funding to maintain current service levels, recognizing the tremendous help Medicaid provides to Maryland.
