By – Polling from Modern Medicaid Alliance revealed most Americans support the Medicaid program. Similarly, only one in five Americans reported they support cuts to the program’s funding.
Eighty-seven percent of Americans said it is important to have a strong, sustainable Medicaid program, according to a poll administered by Morning Consult on behalf of Modern Medicaid Alliance (MMA). The MMA works to educate policymakers and the public about the benefits of Medicaid. They partner with nearly 100 advocacy and non-profit organizations to collect and dispense information that promotes the program’s sustainability.
The organization’s Medicaid Dashboard is a web-based tool. The tool began as a web resource to deliver customized reports to all visitors around Medicaid’s coverage and perceptions of the program. It provides customized reports to the site’s visitors. The data collected from the poll will be incorporated into the dashboard where users can view and interact with the data as well as share and build customized reports.
“Building on our efforts to convene the Modern Medicaid Alliance that began in 2016, we’re proud to support MMA’s launch of the Medicaid Dashboard as a one-stop-shop for the latest, most comprehensive research and polling,” said Matt Eyles, President and CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP).
The poll also showed that 72 percent of Americans had a favorable view of the Medicaid program, an 8-percent increase over 2017.
“This new data shows that more and more Americans have a positive view of Medicaid, and they want the program to continue delivering high-quality, affordable coverage and care,” furthered Eyles.
The polling was conducted in May 2019 and used online survey tools to poll over 8,000 adults across the United States of various demographic groups including age, gender, race, educational attainment, and region of the country.
Over 72 million Americans are covered by Medicaid, nearly 20 percent of the entire United States population. Almost half of Medicaid recipients are children. Medicaid also covers Americans with disabilities, older adults, and individuals with low-income.
Enforcing work requirements for eligible Medicaid recipients has gained increasing popularity in some states. Policymakers argue that it will promote job training and lower unemployment rates. Many are thinking upstream, as well, saying work requirements could promote healthier lifestyles as those who are employed tend to be healthier than those who are not.
Despite analysis showing that most Medicaid adults are already working but are in low-wage jobs and research showing that states implementing work requirements did not see an improvement in employment rates, the policy debate continues.
MMA’s polling plays a critical roll in this discussion as it emphasizes how many Americans support the Medicaid program as is. Advocacy groups can leverage the organization’s dashboard tool to inform policymakers of this sentiment.
The poll showed consistent results across states and Americans agreed Medicaid should be affordable, accessible, and cost-effective.
To achieve these priorities, many states are leveraging Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (MCOs). These entities are contracts between state Medicaid agencies and managed care organizations to deliver high-quality care to Medicaid beneficiaries. The goal of Medicaid MCO’s is to manage costs and utilization without decreasing the quality of care given to Medicaid members.
These organizations currently cover over 54 million Americans on Medicaid.
Medicaid continues to be viewed more favorably by Americans. If this trend is to continue and funding sources are to remain stable, both government and non-government organizations must provide high-quality and cost-effective care to these vulnerable populations.