Medicaid Legislation Background

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The historical background of Medicaid legislation is both fascinating and complex (Quinlan-Colwell, 2009). Before federal offered help was supplied those families who could not afford to pay for health care the responsibility was given to the schools the children attended. During the 1930s the federal and state governments began to absorb the medical cost of children, elderly, and even the poor. In 1950, a few amendments to the Social Security Act made the federal government match the funds states had available for medical coverage. Additional funds were available for the elderly through the Kerr-Mills Act. In 1965, as part of the War on Poverty, Kerr-Mills was broadened. Through the Nineteenth Amendment of the Social Security Act, the