The American healthcare system is one of the best in the world. However, the hastily rising cost of medical care has shut out a substantial segment of the public from accessing rudimentary medical services. One of factors that have contributed to rising medical care costs is the rising number of healthcare-related lawsuits. Moreover, insurance premiums for medical care negligence are on the rise at Fort Lauderdale in Florida. Physicians are encountering elevated costs of insurance due to court proceedings. As a result, majority of Americans, especially elderly women with disabilities are increasingly at risk of not being able to afford costly healthcare services. Thus, the wrecked system of litigation has increased the cost of medical care that elderly women with disabilities pay, via insurance premiums and out-of-pocket payments (Briant, 2002, p.2). This has reduced the number of doctors at Fort Lauderdale who are willing to offer their services for low income patients, particularly the elderly and disabled women aged over 60 years. As a result, the cost of medical care for these individuals has gone up (Department of Health, 2002, p.5).
There are several conditions that a person must fulfill in order to qualify for Medicaid program Fort Lauderdale in Florida. The Social Security Administration makes decisions on individuals eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) plan. The SSI recipients residing in Florida qualify automatically for Medicaid program. Female adults aged over 60 years and meet the SSI asset and income criteria are eligible for the SSI program at Fort Lauderdale (Florida Medicaid, 2009, p.10). There are several Medicaid programs at Fort Lauderdale; in Florida that cover medical needs for elderly and disabled women in Florida. For example, the Medicaid for the Aged and Disabled provides cover for women aged above 60 years. In addition, their disposable incomes must be less than 87% of the Federal Poverty Level (Florida Medicaid, 2009, p.12).
The Refugee Program provides cover for elderly women aliens who qualify under a special general support program. The Institutional Care Program offers cover for elderly women that need nursing services, extended institutional care and intermediary care services for elderly women aged above 60 years. Some of the Home and Community Based Services are usually relinquished for several special programs that permit Medicaid to offer HCBS to elderly and disabled females who require hospitalization without these services. Fort Lauderdale has several HCBS waiver programs. These include: Adult Day Health; Adult Cystic Fibrosis; Aged and Disabled Adult; Assisted Living for the Elderly; and Developmental Disabilities. There are also a number of Medicaid programs with restricted benefits for elderly women with disabilities. For example, the Emergency Medicaid for Aliens provides emergency medical services for the elderly if they do not have residence status in Florida (Florida Medicaid, 2009, p.13).
The Medically Needy program at Fort Lauderdale; in Florida encompasses blind, aged, and disabled persons whose high income disqualify them from other Medicaid programs. However, their high income cannot meet their enormous medical expenses. On a monthly basis, medical costs are deducted from the individual’s income. If the balance meets the Medicaid’s income criteria, the person may be eligible for Medicaid program for the entire or part of the month. However, recipients of Medically Needy program do not qualify for protracted medical care services for example state mental hospice, nursing services and Medicaid premiums (Florida Medicaid, 2009, p.13).
References
Briant, J. (2002). Malpractice Rates Sicken Hospitals. Atlanta: Atlanta Business Chronicle.
Department of Health. (2002). Confronting the New Health Care Crisis. Improving Health Care Quality and Lowering Costs by Fixing our Medical Liability System. Washington DC: US Department of Health and Human Services.
Florida Medicaid. (2009). Florida Medicaid Summary of Services. Web.