An Analysis Of Proposed Rules Restricting Federal Medicaid Payments For Publicly Supported Healthcare Services

During its 47-year existence, Medicaid has been the subject of countless analyses, articles, books, and studies, in view of its sheer size (federal expenditures standing at $190 billion in FY 2006),[1] its complexity (more than five dozen separate federal eligibility categories), and its importance in the American healthcare system. Medicaid funds nearly 40% of all births,[2] covers about one-third of all children,[3] and is the primary source of healthcare financing for persons with severe and chronic physical and mental disabilities.[4] Medicaid virtually enables the operation of public healthcare providers, such as school-based clinics, community health centers, and public hospitals, whose primary mission under both law and policy is healthcare for the poor, the uninsured, and the medically underserved.