Medicaid is being used as an argument against the need to create a new, national public health insurance option. But Medicaid is not a good model for, nor an alternative to, the proposed new public health insurance plan. Medicaid varies too widely from state to state, its funding is unstable, its low provider payment rates lead to low provider participation, and its onerous application requirements keep many eligible people from enrolling. In addition, Medicaid has been largely handed over to private insurance companies, so it is no longer a truly public program.

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