How Medicaid Helps Older Americans

A brief from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College details Medicaid's benefits for older Americans. For one thing, Medicaid gives low-income retirees important health benefits by offering insurance directly, covering Medicare costs, or paying for long-term care. In addition, the recent expansion of Medicaid has helped lower the uninsured rate among employees nearing retirement. Meanwhile, the necessity for this spectrum of Medicaid benefits will increase as the U.S. population gets older and the growth rate of medical expenses continues to overtake that of household incomes. However, older Americans form only a small segment of the Medicaid-eligible population, so their future is dependent on the outcome of the broader debate over the program's size and scope.