Medicaid: Federalism and the Reagan Budget Proposals

As the nation’s program of medical assistance for the poor, Medicaid, enters its 20th year, many fundamental policy questions about the program are still being worked out. Do steelworkers in Pittsburgh, for example, have an interest in the medical care given to the disabled in California? Are the health needs of the poor the responsibility of their county or state government, or of the nation as a whole? Is it more important to allow local control of the program, or to insure equal access to medical care across the country?