Medicaid
Overview
Medicaid is a social support program in the United States. It is essentially federally-funded health insurance which is only available to those who meet certain requirements generally having to do with low income. Although it is federally-funded, it is administered by the individual states, so although there are basic universal (US-wide) requirements and rules, the details can vary from state to state.
State Information
Notes
If a physician will sign a form (in NC, it's DMA-5045) stating that an individual under 21 needs to be in a residence away from the parents, then Medicaid looks only at the individual's income -- not that of the parents -- when determining eligibility.
This essential fact was not mentioned to us during the first year we were trying to get Josh into a group home. Without it, the situation is a catch-22 unless you are dirt poor (and spiraling debt doesn't count): you can't buy group home care (or therapeutic foster care, even) because they don't take private pay, but you still have "too much income" to qualify for Medicaid. --Woozle 07:28, 22 July 2009 (EDT)