Presidential election could have major impact on Medicaid

The New York Times reports that though Medicare reforms get the headlines, Medicaid is more likely to be immediately affected by the presidential election.

The New York Times: 2 Campaigns Differ Sharply on Medicaid, Seeking Vast Growth or Vast Cuts
The way Mitt Romney and Representative Paul D. Ryan frame it, the debate over social programs that has become a dominant theme of the presidential race is all about the future of Medicare, the government health insurance program for retirees. But the outcome of the election will probably have a more immediate and profound effect on Medicaid, the joint state-federal program that provides health care to poor and disabled people. Few other issues present a starker difference between the Republican and Democratic tickets. President Obama, through the health care law that was a centerpiece of his domestic agenda, seeks a vast expansion of Medicaid, which currently covers more than 60 million Americans -; compared with 50 million in Medicare -- and costs the states and the federal government more than $400 billion a year (Goodnough, 8/31).