Medicaid and indigent care issue brief: Medicaid: benefits and services: year end report-2003

Medicaid provides health care insurance for low-income children, some parents who meet income thresholds, pregnant women, the elderly and the disabled. In order to receive federal funds for Medicaid, each state must offer coverage for the following health care services: inpatient and outpatient hospital services; physician services; medical and surgical dental services; nursing facility services; home health care services; family planning services; rural health clinic services; laboratory and x-ray services; pediatric and family nurse practitioner services; federally qualified health center services; nurse-midwife services; and early and periodic screening, diagnosis and treatment (EPSDT) services for individuals under age 21. States can also choose to cover certain additional services under their Medicaid plans, and these often include prescription drugs, dental services (nonmedical or surgical), clinic services, and vision and hearing services. It is up to each state to decide what optional services to include with the mandated services to create their Medicaid benefit package.