Medicaid and Public Health

Dear Colleagues,

In this Special Issue, we present reports on Medicaid. This US-based healthcare program was originally instituted in the 1960s for people with low-paying jobs, mothers, babies, children, alternately-abled people challenged to find or keep gainful employment, and seniors with meagre resources. This federal program empowers states to administer healthcare coverage to these disadvantaged populations. Since then, healthcare, health, and society have changed. To keep with the times and control costs, the federal government and the states have adapted Medicaid in many ways. This Special Issue is intended to house reports of these adaptations and their outcomes.

A lot of what Medicaid pays for are preventable problems. Heart disease and cancers are preventable by not using tobacco. Vaccinations prevent infections and cancers. Clear communication between people and their health care providers prevent emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and re-hospitalizations. In this Special Issue, we will report on innovations in prevention for both short-term improvements in care but also long-term improvements. Evidence from this Special Issue is meant to help state Medicaid programs as they research methods for improving their programs.

A common complaint about Medicaid is its hight cost. However, its high cost is a direct consequence of social inequities in the US. The basic needs of a good life, such as food, housing, security, supportive relationships, are variably distributed in the US and sometimes withheld based on the color of one’s skin, spelling of their name, gender, and other discriminations. These upstream inequities result in downstream health disparities. The deeper pressure to improve Medicaid is achieving social justice before Medicaid is even needed. This Special Issue will publish manuscripts showing the need and mechanisms of addressing social inequities. These publications will urge Medicaid programs to reach out to other departments for new and stronger partnerships.

Medicaid is critical to states achieving wellbeing for all its people. Because of Medicaid’s eligibility requirements, by definition it is a health care delivery system directly impacted by social determinants of health. Nearly all people depending on Medicaid experience financial hardship, which is causally related with other physical deprivations such as depression and anxiety. Articles of interest in this Special Issue will be new health care delivery innovations that achieve health equity by also addressing the individual’s social and environmental surroundings. These innovations will assist health services researchers looking for inspiration and implementation scientists in search of methods for deployment.

Because Medicaid is dependent on federal and state government cooperation, this program is often politically charged. Thus, this Special Issue is also meant to house Perspective pieces and Editorials that are well referenced.

Ultimately, we strive for a society where all people are healthy, happy, and secure. This Special Issue is meant to demonstrate our progress toward that vision.

Yours in improving health and healthcare,

Prof. Christopher R. Cogle
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Medicaid
• health services
• health care delivery
• health policy
• population health
• public health
• health equity
• health disparities