Medicaid Could Improve One's Overall Health, Financial Security: Study

WASHINGTON — Signing up for Medicaid could improve your overall health and financial security, says a surprising new study that offers clues on how President Barack Obama's health care overhaul might affect millions of low-income uninsured Americans.

The findings run counter to a widespread perception that having a Medicaid card is no better than being uninsured, and maybe even worse.

Led by economists at Harvard and MIT, and released Thursday by the National Bureau of Economic Research, the study found that having Medicaid significantly increased the chances people will perceive their health as being good to excellent, while decreasing the likelihood they'll have to borrow money or skip paying other bills because of medical expenses.

Medicaid is a federal-state program for low-income and severely disabled people now covering about 60 million Americans. Starting in 2014, it will also pick up about half the more than 30 million uninsured people gaining coverage under the new health care law. Since it pays doctors far less than Medicare and private insurance, some experts have questioned whether Medicaid coverage will translate into medical care that people need.

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