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Updated April 2005
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Medicaid Survival Kit
By
Martha P. King, et al.
Originally published in 1996, several chapters of NCSL's Medicaid Survival Kit have been updated through two additional editions in 1999 and 2001. It is designed to provide state legislators, their staffs, and others interested in health care finance with three basic survival "tools":
- A succinct yet detailed enough overview of the existing Medicaid program and the population it serves;
- Information about options available to states; and
- A discussion of what some states are doing to contain costs and increase the efficiency of health care delivery under Medicaid.
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Visit This Page Often: This document is a contents/gateway file for the 12 chapters of NCSL's 270-page Medicaid Survival Kit, which is updated periodically. Each chapter will be made available in an electronic printer-friendly version.
This publication is FREE online and in hardcopy to legislators and legislative staff. If accessing online, you may be asked for your NCSL password. If you have not set up a login and password, please go to the NCSL member registration page.
Other users may obtain a copy by calling our marketing department at (303) 364-7812, or e-mail us at books@ncsl.org. Ask for information about the Medicaid Survival Kit.
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Medicaid Survival Kit Chapters
 (printer-friendly versions)
To read portable document format (.pdf) files, you must install Adobe Acrobat Reader.
HTML Executive Summary (last updated June 1999)
Includes information on Medicaid, federal issues, mothers and children, the elderly, people with disabilities and chronic conditions, health centers, pharmaceuticals, managed care, cost containment strategies, state activities and private insurance reform.
The chapters below are available for legislators and legislative staff.
Chapter 1: Medicaid Overview (last updated August 2001) [password required]
Medicaid is the nation's health insurance program for low-income Americans. As a federal/state partnership, states have the option to participate or not. Even though the program has extensive federal requirements and restrictions, states have many options to tailor their programs to meet their state's medical assistance needs. This section describes the Medicaid program, the people it covers, the services it provides and funding issues.
(HTML) Chapter 2: Federal Issues (last updated June 1999)[password required]
This section presents an overview of the Medicaid changes and by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, examines the effect on Medicaid of the 1996 welfare reform legislation, highlights Medicaid reform proposals from 1996 that may shape future debate, and describes NCSL policy related to Medicaid reforms.
Chapter 3: Mothers and Children (last updated August 2001) [password required]
This section addresses the who, why and how of Medicaid coverage for women and children. It also briefly discusses how Medicaid relates to other programs, such as the State Children's Health Insurance program (SCHIP) and the Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant (Title V of the Social Security Act).
Chapter 4: The Elderly (last updated November 1996) [password required]
America is aging and aging rapidly. The "old," people age 85 and older, make up the fastest growing segment of the population. Today one in eight Americans is age 65 or older. The aging of the "baby boom" generation is expected to increase that ratio to one in six by 2020 and one in five by 2050. And as the population ages, more Americans will need long-term care services, a range of medical social, personal care and other support services.
Chapter 5: People With Disabilities/Chronic Conditions (last updated November 1996) [password required]
This section of the Medicaid Survival Kit provides information about Medicaid-eligible people who are classified as "blind and disabled" in data reported by the federal Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA).
(HTML) Chapter 6: Health Centers and Other Community-Based providers (last updated February 2000) [password required]
In 1998, Medicaid accounted for one-third of total revenues for federally qualified health centers, and 36 percent of patients served by such health centers were Medicaid beneficiaries.
 Chapter 7: Pharmaceuticals (last updated June 2002 and April 2003) [password required]
All states have opted to cover pharmaceuticals because use of medications often provides an alternative to expensive surgery, results in shorter hospital stays and prevents illness. Nevertheless, prescriptions drugs can be costly and a number of pharmaceutical cost-containment mechanisms have been established on both the federal and state levels.
Chapter 8: Managed Care (last updated November 1996) [password required]
Managed care is one of the strategies most frequently used by states to control Medicaid costs while ensuring access to health care. Today, about one-third of all Medicaid recipients are served by some type of managed care program.
Chapter 9: Other Cost Containment Strategies (last updated November 1996) [password required]
This section of the Medicaid Survival Kit surveys some of the major strategies currently being considered or in use by states to rein in Medicaid costs.
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