“I never thought Medicaid would become a problem in my family, but he has done it.”
That was the first line of a note that I received this week from a veteran retired from the investment industry whose autistic son receives the coverage of the program. A similar email came from one of the richest cities in California.
Yes, Medicaid mainly serves Americans with the lowest income, and it is possible that they do not count between them.
But now that the program is potentially in the cutting block, since the Republicans in Congress seek to win up to $ 2 billion in expenses of expenses, it is a good time to consider others they qualify.
It could be an aged father who needs attention to an elderly home, whose meaning meaning has been exhausted after 20 years of retirement. Or it could be a 26 -year -old adult boy who can no longer be covered with his health insurance, but he is not yet earning a lot of money. Or maybe he is a severely disabled child.
Millions of people who are financially comfortable can now be just a bad rest of needing Medicaid for themselves or a member of their immediate family. Without coverage, the cost of care for an aged father or a sick or disabled child, of any age, can be ruinous.
Medicaid is a shield against anxiety for the luckiest among us. If there is any possibility that your family can face huge bills of situations such as those that follow, the debate of Medicaid’s policy also affects it.
Long -term attention
Medicaid pays the elderly home and other people in the long term for people who have left most without money. (Medicare does not pay for such attention in most circumstances).
Often, middle -aged people are amazed when they begin to help an aged father or another relative and discover that the average annual cost of a semi -instead in an elderly home is $ 111,325, according to an annual survey conducted by Genworth, a company in the long -term service planning business.
They are relieved when elderly household employees tell them that their parents will qualify for Medicaid once those parents extract their own funds (or qualify), and they will not cost anything to adult children.
“This is everyone’s coverage,” said David C. Grabowski, a professor of Medical Care Policy at Harvard’s Faculty of Medicine.
Your 26 -year -old adult
A law that most people do not appreciate until they reach their 20 years (or their child) is a requirement that health insurers allow most parents to keep that child in their plan until the child turns 26, provided that it offers coverage for the dependents.
After celebrating 26 years, they are alone. And it doesn’t matter how well it is, it does not guarantee that its 26 -year -old has a paid job, much less the guy who has a health insurance provided by the employer.
Enter Medicaid, who often covers individual adults who do not earn more than $ 21,597 annually. The KFF website, a non -profit health research group, has a series of clear explanations in several eligibility categories. (In which state of housing can import a lot for all categories of beneficiaries of Medicaid, and the states administer the programs).
50 -year -old people do not generally boast that their 20 -year -old children are in Medicaid. I know two recipients in my circle in this category, because I ask about such things. Ask; They are probably also in your circle.
The disabled
For most children with an incurable but not fatal condition, and many adults with a disability that prevents them from working or winning a lot, there are generally at least one family member who manages some aspect of their attention. But those family members may not be paying for it.
If your youngest child has, for example, spina bifida or cerebral palsy, your health insurance may not cover all therapy or health assistants that will allow you to avoid becoming a full -time caregiver. Medicaid often intervenes to pay many of these expenses, regardless of how much parents win.
It is possible that some adult children with autism cannot work, lead to work or live alone without much help. But they can still want independence. However, the necessary assistance and assistants to live away from the family may not be in the penny of the family. Medicaid pays many expenses for those who are eligible, regardless of their parents’ assets.
Then, if she is pregnant or consider becoming a father, Medicaid is a probable support if her son ends up needing a huge amount of attention. The same is true if your 20 -year -old university student has a disabling accident, its 25 -year -old has a severe stroke and only partially recovers or her 30 -year -old has a mental health diagnosis that alters life.
It may also be true if you want to adopt. When Kelly M. Smith and his partner adopted two brothers from the Connecticut breeding care system and moved them to North Carolina, the children described for Medicaid and stayed in it until they were young adults.
Later, Mr. Smith’s grandmother turned 100 and could no longer live alone. Medicaid paid for his attention as elderly until he died.
“Medicaid supports everyone, including higher income from the United States.”
Mr. Smith sent me the most beautiful photo of his family, and he was not the only one who shared snapshots. But the messages with some of those photos were heartbreaking. When parents listen about the possibility of even moderate medicaid cuts, they are scared of their minds. They are also full of anger what they see as the cruelty of everything.
President Trump has promised not to reduce the program. Rhetoric about “fraud, waste and abuse” of Medicaid float in the ether, but there is still no formal legislative plan.
All we have for now are statistics and stories. The statistics are these: Medicaid pays approximately 50 percent of services and long -term support (such as elderly homes and home attention), according to KFF, and the program covers more than 70 million people.
The stories are yours to tell, and to get others that could otherwise be discouraged to discuss a delicate part of their financial lives.
“Talk about it. Celebrate it,” said Brittany Van Der Salm, who spent years working for consulting companies that helped states improve their Medicaid programs. “It’s something to be proud. You have made a great decision for yourself in search and attention.”
