Medicaid helps millions of Americans every day. It’s a health program that creates innovative solutions to improve health outcomes, reduce costs, and provide comprehensive health benefits for more than 20 percent of the U.S. population.
As health care continues to shape and drive the policy debate in Washington, the Modern Medicaid Alliance has launched a nationwide grassroots and multimedia education campaign — titled “Medicaid Works” — to demonstrate the holistic value of today’s Medicaid program through stories of real beneficiaries and recent data on how Medicaid is saving taxpayer dollars.
Backed by more than 50 nonprofit, business, provider, and patient organizations, this effort comes at a time of uncertainty for the future of health care – specifically, today’s modern Medicaid program.
Despite the many proven benefits, concerns about Medicaid’s current role and value still persist. This campaign will focus its efforts to remove the stigmas and misperceptions surrounding the Medicaid program and present evidence of the program’s success.
Members of the Modern Medicaid Alliance will be working diligently throughout this campaign and beyond to showcase how Medicaid is already an efficient, effective program for beneficiaries and taxpayers–and it continues to improve year over year. For example:
- Payment Innovation in Michigan: The Healthy Michigan plan gives more financial control to their consumers. The Medicaid expansion plan requires recipients to contribute to health savings accounts and allows them to reduce co-pays through healthy behaviors.
- Consumer Engagement in Indiana: Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) 2.0 offers a unique approach to Medicaid benefits that encourages consumer engagement in health care by using program and benefit design, along with both financial and non-financial incentives.
- Physical and Behavioral Health Integration in Missouri: Missouri was the first state to adopt health homes for people with serious mental illnesses. Missouri has enrolled more than 23,000 people in community mental health centers (CMHC) established through health homes. According to initial results, the percentage of beneficiaries in these health homes who had one hospitalization or more declined by more than 25 percent.
- Mental Health Services Integration in Arizona: Arizona’s Medicaid program is considered a model for integration of mental health and substance-abuse services. In 2014, Arizona agreed to increase services, such as offering employment and housing support, for those who don’t qualify for Medicaid and have severe mental illnesses.
Across the board, Medicaid is strengthening local communities and fostering a brighter future for America. We need to ensure this program continues to work and provides access to high-quality health care for the millions of beneficiaries who depend on these services.