Medicaid-Enrolled Persons Vs the Uninsured Adults

       Medicaid-Enrolled Persons Vs the Uninsured Adults 

  Affordable Care Act enables all states to provide Medicaid services to all adults earning less than 138% of the FPL (Federal Poverty Level). Given that the act was recently passed, uncertainty still lingers with regards to the extent of medical services covered.

Study Question

           This is the study question: What are the health care needs and risks posed by uninsured adults in the United States eligible for Medicaid Cover under Affordable Care Act? The data gathered from the study will provide answers to the healthcare professionals that will be vital in the possible expansion of the Medicaid program. Also, the study will offer an understanding on the reasons for the lack of awareness by the uninsured population regarding the medical conditions such as hypercholesterolemia and diabetes. For years, the uninsured population that is affected has failed to seek control of the disease. The reverse is true for those who are Medicaid-enrolled.

Study Population

          The researchers analyzed the data regarding the health conditions of 1,042 uninsured adults randomly sampled nationwide. The uninsured adults were aged between 19 and 64 years, with income not exceeding 138% of the federal level of poverty. On the other hand, 471 adults categorized as low-income earners were sampled for the study. The low-income earners are enrolled to Medicaid and served as control experiment for the study.

The Experimental Design

          The experimental design for the study was based on the utilization of the data sample gathered from the database of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The national survey was carried out between the year 2007 and 2010. As such, the data was regarded as viable for the study. This saved on the cost of gathering data afresh from new sources.

          The experimental design allowed for the understanding of the prevalence of chronic diseases for instance diabetes and hypertension. Such conditions are likely to affect the adult population regardless of their source of income. To ensure the authenticity of data gathered, cases of disease prevalence among the sampled population was based on self-reported health status, medical professional examination and laboratory tests.

Results of the study

          The study found out that there was a strong disparity in the likelihood of illness among the individuals that are Medicaid-enrolled and the uninsured adults. In fact, the sampled uninsured adults had fewer cases of obesity than the working population with Medicaid enrollment. This implies that a report on emotional, physical and mental limitations by the uninsured is less likely. For instance, less than 30% of adults with no insurance had severe cases of hypercholesterolemia and diabetes. This fades when compared with more than 38% of similar cases among the adults enrolled in Medicaid. However, it should be noted that the lifestyle of the uninsured adults make it hard for them to be aware of the possible medical condition. In turn, the lack of awareness lowers the chances of disease control.

          The lack of proper disease control measures among the uninsured population was evidenced by the research outcome which indicated that 80.1% of them, with 1(or more of 3 conditions under study) had 1 or more uncontrolled conditions. In comparison, there were 63.4% of Medicaid-enrolled adults. The projections are seen as a representation of more than 3.5 million people that require immediate intensive medical care as soon as they are enrolled in Medicaid.