Here's How Medicaid Became the Backstop of America's Ailing Health Care System

This is one in a series of stories by Kaiser Health News on the reach and the role of Medicaid, the federal-state program that began as a medical program for the poor but now provides a wide variety of services for a large swath of America. It is being republished with permission.When high levels of lead were discovered in the public water system in Flint, Mich., in 2015, Medicaid stepped in to help thousands of children get tested for poisoning and receive care.When disabled children need to get to doctors' appointments — either across town or hundreds of miles away — Medicaid pays for their transportation.When middle-class older Americans deplete their savings to pay for costly nursing home care, Medicaid offers coverage.The United States has become a Medicaid nation.Although it started as a plan to cover only the poor, Medicaid now touches tens of millions of Americans who live above the poverty line. The program serves as a backstop for America's scattershot health care system, and legislative efforts to drastically change it spur a backlash.Today, Medicaid is the nation's largest health insurance program, covering 74 million, or more than 1 in 5 Americans. Twenty-five percent of Americans will be on Medicaid at some point over the course of the year — many are just a pink slip away from being eligible.  Continue reading...