Medicaid is a Federal-State partnership wherein the federal government absorbs the bulk of the expenditure. States are given the flexibility to manage their Medicaid programs as long as minimum federal requirements are met. This arrangement allows states to provide coverage based on their specific structure and needs. 28 States and the District of Columbia signed up for the Medicaid expansions under the affordable care act (David et.al). The states that opted out of the expansions have the most number or uninsured and poor residents. The government of some opt out states are looking at alternative options to provide care for their large uninsured populations but this only leads to disparities in the health care options available to their denizens versus the other states (Omolola et.al). One proposal repeatedly made by the current administration is to limit the federal contribution by switching from the current percentage model to a model of block grants or per-capita caps. Under the block grants model, states would be given a fixed amount of Medicaid funding which they would need to manage. Under the per-capita model, Medicaid recipients will be subject to a reimbursement cap. …show more content…
However, this claim is misleading; states already have a great amount of flexibility in managing their Medicaid programs. In addition, states have used Medicaid to fund innovation through programs such as home-community based care. Such programs have allowed states such as Oregon to reduce the burden on hospitals and emergency care centers. Studies have shown that such programs have reduced costs and improved the health of patients in the long run. Programs focused on preventive care reduce usage of emergency and urgent care. In addition, Medicaid is also used by certain states like Massachusetts to provide care for opioid abuse patients and