Medicaid is the medical services program run by the State with mandatory federal requirement for families with low income or limited resources in the United States. Medicaid is a social welfare (or social protection) program that serves about 40 million people (as of 2007) and costs about $330 billion, or 2.4% of GDP, in 2007.
Services included under Medicaid are: inpatient & outpatient hospital services, prenatal care, vaccines for children, physician services, nursing facility services for persons aged 21 or older, family planning services and supplies, rural health clinic services, home health care for persons eligible for skilled-nursing services, laboratory and x-ray services, pediatric and family nurse practitioner services, nurse-midwife services, federally qualified health-center (FQHC) services and ambulatory services, early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment (EPSDT) services for children under age 21.
Medicaid does not pay money to individuals, but operates in a program that sends payments to the health care providers. States make these payments based on a fee-for-service agreement or through prepayment arrangements such as health maintenance organizations (HMOs).
Each state sets its own Medicaid eligibility guidelines. The program is geared towards people with low incomes, but eligibility also depends on meeting other requirements based on age, pregnancy status, disability status, other assets, and citizenship. The State is required to provide coverage to certain individuals who receive federally assisted income-maintenance payments and similar groups who do not receive cash payments.
