What will happen to the millions of uninsured when the Medicaid cuts kick in?

An article called, "Living in a HOUSE of CARDS" in the April 2005 issue of the AARP Bulletin, expresses concern about the federal-state program which provides health care for more than 53 million poor, older and disabled Americans. Missouri Governor Mike Blunt states that cuts are needed to make Medicaid "sustainable and affordable for Missouri taxpayers."

Apparently due to the change in the national economy in 2000, total spending on Medicaid increased by a third from 2000 to 2003.

In the article, they mention a man who is a full-time state employee who got cancer but he says, "I paid and paid for my insurances, but when I needed it, it wasn't enough."

In two other cases, women have opted to work second jobs in order to pay for their own or their children's medical expenses. One woman says she is trying to make healthier choices to care for herself and her children. Surprise?

In Mississippi, they are considering raising the state tax on tobacco to help pay for Medicaid. In Arkansas, Governor Mike Huckabee (R) says that it's impossible to meed to demands of the program with less federal funding.

According to the article, increasing numbers of people are enrolling in Medicaid and at the same time health care costs are rising at twice the rate of inflation. Medicaid and Medicare both began in 1965 as a part of Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society. It has helped many people but also fostered dependence on the government. Who takes over from here? The total bill for Medicaid was more than $300 billion in 2004 and more expensive than Medicare.

Where will it end? What can be done to help Americans with health care costs? Perhaps people should be taught ways to become healthier. I wonder who will take the lead in this type of project.