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Medicaid's Role in Health Reform and Closing the Coverage Gap

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Diane Rowland  and
Barbara Lyons
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Abstract

Medicaid coverage matters for millions of low-income Americans, and especially for those with ongoing and serious health challenges. A source of comprehensive and affordable coverage, Medicaid has long been a cornerstone of federal and state efforts to improve access and health outcomes for very poor and medically vulnerable populations. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) leveraged Medicaid's role in serving the poor to broaden the program's reach to millions of low-income uninsured adults, and positioned the program as a fundamental component of the newly established continuum of public and private coverage. Looking ahead, if more states embrace the Medicaid expansion, there is the potential to build on this progress to significantly reduce the number of uninsured Americans.

Type
Symposium Articles
Information
Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , Volume 44 , Issue 4: Health Reform: Assessing the Affordable Care Act and Moving Forward , Winter 2016 , pp. 580 - 584
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 2016

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