Essentials of Health Policy and Law 2nd Edition by Joel Teitelbaum,Sara Wilensky

Exercise 12

Does the medically needy category make sense to you? Do you think it is a good idea to discount medical expenses of high-need individuals so they can access the healthcare services they need through Medicaid? If so, is the process described above cumbersome and likely to result in people being on and off Medicaid (and therefore likely on and of f treatment) because their eligibility is based on their spending patterns? Why should individuals with high medical needs have an avenue to Medicaid eligibility that is not available to other low-income people who have other high expenses, such as child care or transportation costs? Would it make more sense to simply raise the eligibility level for edicaid so more low-income people are eligible for the program? Politically, which option would likely have m ore s upport? D oes y our v iew a bout t he m edically needy category vary depending on your primary decision-making goal (fiscal restraint, equity, improved health outcomes, etc.)?