The Homa Files

Make your guess before peeking ….

==========

Medicaid took center stage during the repeal & replace drama … so, I’ve been more alert to Medicaid news.

Let’s put today’s question in context.

According to MSN:

Over the past five decades, Medicaid has surpassed Medicare in the number of Americans it covers.

It has grown gradually into a behemoth that provides for the medical needs of one in five Americans — 74 million people.

For comparison … about half are on employer-based plans and “only” 14% are on Medicare.

========

Here’s the geographic spread, according to the Kaufman Family Foundation:

Note the heavy Medicaid density in the West … and the relatively light density in the Heartland.

=========

OK, you have your frame of reference: about 20% of Americans on Medicaid.

So, what percentage of babies are born on Medicaid?

===========

The number caught me by surprise …

Again, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation:

Medicaid pays for nearly 50% of all births in the United States.

Think about that for a second …

=========

By state, the lowest percentages are in New Hampshire (27%), Virginia (31%), Utah (31%) and North Dakota (33%).

Medicaid births are a majority in 17 states … with New Mexico (72%), Arkansas (67%) and Louisiana (65%) leading the pack.

Note the heavy density of Medicaid births across the South.

==========

Here is the state-by-state detail … don’t let it obscure the big takeaway:

Almost half of U.S. births are on Medicaid.

That took my breath away…

==========

 

==========

#HomaFiles

Follow on Twitter @KenHoma            >> Latest Posts

==========

This entry was posted on April 3, 2017 at 6:55 am and is filed under Demograhics, Health Care / Medical Insurance, Healthcare Economics, Medicaid. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.