Cecily O'Connor
RedwoodAge.com
Boomers needing the government's help to pay for health care coverage may want to think twice about where they live..
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The 10 most generous states |
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| State | Payment Per Enrollee | Total Medicaid Payment 2005 |
| District of Colombia | $7,941 | $1,315,823,700 |
| New York | $7,733 | $13,114,394,700 |
| Alaska | $7,699 | $366,000,923 |
| Maine | $7,691 | $927,071,573 |
| North Dakota | $7,496 | $224,423,813 |
| Rhode Island | $7,464 | $582,870,187 |
| Connecticut | $7,212 | $1,261,138,400 |
| New Jersey | $7,022 | $2,334,346,867 |
| Minnesota | $6,974 | $1,743,732,467 |
| Massachusetts | $6,837 | $2,761,464,300 |
While New York and Alaska lead other states in payments, Arizona, Georgia and California have lower payments.
That's because Medicaid, a national program that helps Americans who are unemployed or can't afford private health insurance, has different service offerings, eligibility requirements and funding levels in each state.
"With one in five Americans on Medicaid at any one time, it's important to understand that the state you live in will have a big impact on if, and when, health care coverage will be there for you when you need it," said Phil Lebherz, founder and executive director of the Foundation for Health Coverage Education.
Using data from the Kaiser Family Health Foundation, the foundation showed how programs differ among the 50 states and the District of Columbia by looking their expenditures per Medicaid enrollee.
Direct Link Between Funding and Care
How well a state funds its own programs and how much matching funding it
receives from the federal government determine the number of physicians willing
to treat Medicaid patients, the ability of hospital emergency rooms to stay open
and the waiting periods Americans may experience when signing up, Lebherz said.
"There's a direct link between how a state is funded and the quality of its overall health care delivery system," he added.
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The 10 least funded states |
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| State | Payment Per Enrollee | Total Medicaid Payment |
| Michigan | $4,348 | $2,785,003,456 |
| S. Carolina | $4,260 | $1,746,186,161 |
| Hawaii | $4,051 | $343,328,040 |
| Louisiana | $3,823 | $1,829,997,502 |
| Arkansas | $3,617 | $1,136,408,102 |
| Texas | $3,598 | $5,426,858,323 |
| Oklahoma | $3,571 | $1,053,669,315 |
| Georgia | $3,560 | $2,445,901,772 |
| Arizona | $3,066 | $1,792,240,233 |
| California | $2,701 | $9,525,706,733 |
Additionally, Lebherz said it's "surprising" that states such as California - where the cost of living is very high - spend and receive the least funding from the federal government for Medicaid at $2,701 per enrollee per year. Meanwhile, states where the cost of living is much lower, such as Maine and North Dakota, provide two and a half times that amount, at $7,691 and $7,496 respectively per enrollee.
"When Medicaid falls short of paying health care providers what they need in order to keep their doors open, providers have to charge private patients more and this impacts everyone in that state, Lebherz said.
The foundation uncovered funding discrepancies after it began a public service campaign to sign up uninsured Americans who qualify for government benefits.
