Final answer:
Medicaid in Ohio covers a broad range of health-care services for low-income individuals, including hospital stays, physician fees, and diagnostics. The program has expanded under the Affordable Care Act to include more low and moderate-income citizens, and it also contributes significantly to the costs of nursing home care.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Ohio, Medicaid provides a wide range of health-care coverage. Since its creation in 1965, Medicaid has been a source of medical insurance for low-income individuals, including families with children, the elderly, and the disabled. It covers essential services such as hospital stays, physician fees, and diagnostics. Medicaid expansion, a part of the Affordable Care Act ('Obamacare'), incentivized states to expand their eligibility, allowing more low and moderate-income citizens access to public medical insurance. Ohio, which has expanded its Medicaid program, requires beneficiaries to meet certain income criteria.
Eligibility varies by state, but generally, the program covers the blind, the disabled, and children under the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) if the family's income is below the poverty level. In addition to these federal requirements, states have the flexibility to determine their own eligibility standards. Medicaid is also known for paying a significant portion of nursing home care costs in the United States.
Medicaid coverage has been expanded to include a broader population, including able-bodied adults under 65 earning up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level. Importantly, individuals without employer coverage who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid can seek coverage through state-based insurance purchasing organizations, with the law also putting important protections in place, such as prohibiting insurance companies from rejecting people for preexisting conditions.