ReactionPaper#1_Cao_Chris (1) (2)

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School

Texas A&M University *

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107

Subject

Medicine

Date

Oct 30, 2023

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pdf

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Uploaded by chrishycao

Chris Cao 9/14/2023 Reaction Paper #1 I have chosen to react to the article The Role of Medicaid In Rural America, authored by Julie Foutz, Samantha Artiga, and Rachel Garfield. The article discusses the vital role of Medicaid in providing healthcare coverage for approximately 52 million nonelderly individuals living in rural areas of the United States. Rural populations can encounter significant healthcare access obstacles; including shortages in healthcare providers, long travel distances, and hospital closures. Medicaid is a critical source of healthcare for the rural population, in some places, rural areas have higher Medicaid rates than urban areas. The Affordable Care Act led to improved coverage in rural areas and was able to expand to more states. However, in doing so it introduces cuts to Medicaid, which would disproportionately impact the rural population, given its major role. The reading relates to our class coverage of Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. It ties along what we discussed in week two of Triple Aim and how America wants to improve the population health and decrease the capita per cost for healthcare, and thus implemented the Affordable Care Act, whilst making improvements to Medicaid. I agreed with the sentiment of the article that detailed how Medicaid was playing a large role in helping bridge the uninsured to insured gap in the rural population and that it is vital for rural America. However, my reaction to it was that though Medicaid has allowed for the rural population to obtain health care, the new cuts can really harm those who are already covered by Medicaid and the providers who are already struggling to keep up due to recent troubles. The subject of Medicaid is one that I am familiar with. Growing up, I lived in a semi-rural area and grew up on a street that was predominantly trailer homes. Most of the neighbors that lived in the trailer homes are similar to the population discussed in the article; they were non-elderly, white, unemployed/disabled, and were either non insured or on Medicaid. Many of them faced

problems of being able to obtain Medicaid, despite being at high risk of illness/injury. The high risk is due to health problems attributed to smoking, drinking, and since most were unemployed, they worked jobs that were dangerous; there were some that fell off ladders and trees, back injuries due to carrying heavy loads, and one of my neighbors lost an arm due to a workplace accident. Thus, many lost their Medicaid due to sustaining injuries and not able to work and thus not having “proof of income”. Some also lost their Medicaid coverage due to not knowing that they had to renew, due to low education they did not have the knowledge to renew or comprehend the paperwork sent in order to renew. Recent cuts have also impacted the community, as there is less money available for coverage and coverage costs have increased. I believe Medicaid should do a better job of educating those who are less knowledgeable and provide more government support for the program so there are no cuts to financial support. Though on the more positive side, Medicaid was able to help most of my neighbors obtain health insurance despite their low income and fill the gaps of private coverage in a rural area.

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