Medicaid Covers 1 out of 5 Americans. How Did It Get So Big? | WSJ

Medicaid Overview - Medicaid covers nearly a quarter (25%) of Americans and costs over $800 billion [1] - Medicaid initially started small but has expanded significantly over time [1][5] - Medicaid's funding logic, involving federal assistance to states, has made it both contentious and prone to expansion [6] - Each state's Medicaid program is unique, tailored to its population [7] Healthcare Coverage in the US - Most working-age adults obtain insurance through employers, while others rely on public programs like Medicaid and Medicare [9] - The Affordable Care Act (ACA) created the healthcaregov marketplace, offering tax credits to make insurance affordable for those ineligible for Medicaid but lacking employer coverage [10] - The US healthcare system is described as "patchwork," with recent years seeing record lows in the number of uninsured individuals [10] Potential Impact of Policy Changes - Proposed changes are estimated to cause 87 million (8700000) people to become uninsured due to work requirements and administrative barriers [11] - An estimated 42 million (4200000) people could lose coverage because tax credits for the marketplace are not being extended, making it unaffordable [11] - Medicaid has grown to fill gaps in employer-based coverage, but this gap is now expected to widen [12]