Final answer:
The federal legislation in question is Medicaid, a joint health insurance program funded by both the federal government and administered by states to provide coverage for low-income individuals, with variations in services across different states.
Step-by-step explanation:
The federal legislation that provides healthcare for indigent persons and is administered by individual states is Medicaid. Created by Congress in 1965, Medicaid is a joint health insurance program that operates in partnership between the federal government and the states. It is aimed at providing medical coverage to certain low-income individuals and families, with a particular focus on children, the elderly, and the disabled. The federal government helps fund the program, but it’s up to each state to administer it, which includes determining the level of benefits and establishing eligibility criteria. State variations in Medicaid mean that the program can look quite different depending on where one lives, offering a range of services and coverage levels
One-third of Medicaid spending supports low-income mothers with children, and a growing portion is allocated to covering nursing home care costs for the elderly poor. The introduction of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, brought substantial changes to the healthcare landscape, including alterations to Medicaid expansion and requirements for individual health insurance coverage.