Overview

Create a table to compare and contrast Medicaid plans from different states and reflect on the impact of Medicaid variations for Americans.

Background

In an annual survey of health care consumers with health insurance, less than half46 percentstated they understand their coverage. This percentage is like previous years. Among age groups, young health care consumers have the least understanding of their health insurance coverage. By age group, the percentages of those who stated they have a good understanding are:

30 percent of Generation Y

40 percent of Generation X

54 percent of Baby Boomers

58 percent of Seniors (Deloitte Center for Health Solutions 2010, 15)

This lack of understanding undermines people when they try to (1) compare and select health care insurance plans or (2) determine amounts of money to set aside in health savings accounts.

Instructions

With consumer impact in mind,

1. Create a table to compare and contrast Medicaid plans from two states.

2. Write a 1 - 2 page reflection on this comparison. Please discuss,

Whether states should have autonomy in choosing how to administer a Medicaid program.

How variations (between states) in Medicaid programs impact Americans.

The advantages and disadvantages to individual Americans due to these variations.