Facts about Medicaid

The Healthcare Coalition for the North Country formed because we believe it is essential to preserve vital healthcare resources in our region as Medicaid funding reductions are contemplated in Washington. As a major payor for health-related services, Medicaid underpins the North Country’s healthcare delivery system and is a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of people in our region. While there is always a need to identify and eliminate fraud and abuse, we also need to preserve healthcare through Medicaid for people in need who qualify by current standards.

Medicaid is Important in the North Country 

Medicaid is government-provided healthcare insurance for low-income, middle-class and disabled people. It provides significant funding to our local hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, medical practices, and home care. Medicaid also funds many special programs that operate here:

• CHIP: Health insurance for children of working families that can't afford, or don't receive, health insurance through their employment.

• WIC: Provides special support for low-income and pregnant women, infants, and children.

• DUAL INSURANCE FOR THE MEDICARE-ELIGIBLE: Medicaid combines with Medicare to assure insurance coverage for rehabilitation and certain home care services. Medicaid also pays for residential services at nursing homes.

• DISABILITY COVERAGE: Medicaid covers critical physical and mental health services.

• ACA: The Affordable Care Act extends Medicaid coverage for the near and working poor who otherwise can’t get health insurance.

In all its different forms, Medicaid is an essential linchpin of life in the 21st Congressional District, which encompasses most of the North Country:

• Medicaid provides support for 215,000 lives, representing 28% of our population, including our family members and neighbors. 

• More than 50% of all childbirths in the North Country are paid for by Medicaid, and 34.5% of the children here are covered by Medicaid.

• More than 60% of nursing home residents are covered by Medicaid. The North Country has the second largest percentage of elderly residents in the nation.

• 16.4% of the North Country’s population is employed by the healthcare sector, which is reliant on Medicaid.

• A significant percentage of the revenue earned by hospitals and all other healthcare providers in the North Country comes from Medicaid reimbursements. This revenue, in turn, is spent locally.