Americans want to "keep Medicaid as it is": survey

By Lisa Lambert
Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – More than half of Americans do not want Medicaid funding cut and are skeptical of changing how the federal government funds the healthcare program for the poor, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey released on Wednesday.

Currently, U.S. states administer Medicaid with partial reimbursements from the federal government. The healthcare reform law passed last year made more people eligible for the program and also increased some rates of reimbursement.

Recently, Republicans in Congress have floated the idea of moving away from reimbursements and toward sending states a set amount of money each year for the program, which can take up a third of a state's budget.

Kaiser's survey found that 60 percent of people "would prefer to keep Medicaid as it is, with the federal government guaranteeing coverage and setting minimum standards for benefits and eligibility."

(More here.)