The new Medicaid debate: expansion or retrenchment?

Health advocates are facing a sea-change in Washington. Comprehensive federal health care reform eluded the nation under the Clinton Administration, but incremental progress through state-based Medicaid expansions and new CHIP programs was widespread, giving rise to some innovative state efforts to cover more of the uninsured. Washington's support was instrumental in those efforts, but the second Bush Administration seems intent on reversing that direction. To protect--and build upon--these nascent Medicaid efforts, advocates will have to mount careful strategies in defense of Medicaid. This States of Health looks at the dangers that may lie ahead and suggests how advocates can respond to keep Medicaid moving in the right direction.