The Impact Of Medicaid, CHIP, And Medicare Health Insurance Programs

The American healthcare system can be extremely expensive if the patients do not have health insurance. However, private insurance companies are not feasible for lower-income families, so the federal government introduced Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP so that medical care would become affordable for everyone. The plans offered by these three insurance companies are established either as a block grant or an entitlement.

Block grants are given by the federal government to all the states with a guideline on spending the grant. The advantage of this grant is that the spending can be flexible with minimum restrictions; however, the disadvantage of this grant is that sometimes the funds are not spent effectively. The entitlement program is provided to anyone who meets the requirements for it, which means that eligible people can avail of it without any delay. Another advantage of these entitlement programs is that people not only get health insurance but also receive other benefits like food stamps, unemployment aid, etc. However, this adds to a disadvantage for the government as many people do not look for jobs as they have entitlement programs that provide them better benefits than any job would (CNBC, 2014). The economic repercussions of entitlement programs are high as the people enrolled in these programs become lazy and do not want to get a job. This program is seen as a waste of taxpayers’ money. The benefits of this program pale in comparison to the disadvantages (Institute, 2011). The block grants restrict the funds, which means that people who receive them do not become fully dependent on them and cannot find jobs to finance their needs. My answer to these questions depends on who is paying for the program, and if these questions are asked to any taxpayer, they will voice their frustration as their hard-earned money is not going towards making lives better for the taxpayers but is being used without accountability. Policymakers also think that these programs are going to prevent the government’s ability to respond to economic downturns.

References

CNBC. (2014, May 27). Pros & cons of entitlement programs. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/video/2014/05/27/pros-cons-of-entitlement-programs.html

Institute, K. H. (2011, May 2). Block grant pros and cons. Kansas Health Institute. https://www.khi.org/news/article/block-grant-pros-and-cons