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Setting the Context

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March 2013

Medicaid and CHIP are at a critical juncture in their evolution. Medicaid is on the cusp of a major eligibility expansion that will heighten its role as a major purchaser of health services. At the same time, Congress is considering the future of CHIP in the context of both the Medicaid expansion and the subsidized coverage that will be offered through health insurance exchanges.

Chapter 1 of MACPAC’s March 2013 report explores how continued growth in health care spending, a desire to enhance program efficiency and promote better health care outcomes, and pressures with respect to the financing and delivery of long-term services and supports shape the context in which Medicaid and CHIP programs operate, focusing on how issues affecting health care in the U.S. are influencing the two programs. Read more about issues the federal government and the states considered when preparing for changes mandated by the ACA.

Publication Type: Reports to Congress

From: March 2013 Report to the Congress on Medicaid and CHIP