Conceptually, Medicaid was created to provide humanitarian health care to those unable to pay for the cost of care by virtue of age or disability – but “conceptually” was a long time ago and very far away from the reality of today.
Between then and now, risk has transferred from private sector coverage causing the publicly funded Medicaid program to function as a form of reinsurance in the increasingly high-cost health care market.
Understanding the relationship between Medicaid, private sector coverage, and health care providers is important now that the biggest testosterone war ever on this side of Texas is taking place here over funding for Mississippi’s Medicaid program. Continue reading “Think of Medicaid as reinsurance before bashing Governor’s proposal…”