States resist Medicaid growth

The legislation the Senate Finance Committee is expected to approve calls for the biggest expansion of Medicaid since its creation in 1965. Under the Senate bill and a similar House proposal, a patchwork state-federal insurance program targeted mainly at children, pregnant women, and disabled people would effectively become a Medicare for the poor, a healthcare safety net for all people with an annual income below $14,404, reports the Washington Post. Whether Medicaid can absorb a huge influx of beneficiaries is a matter of concern to many governors, who have cut low-income health benefits to cope with the economic downturn.