Medicaid provides health coverage for more than 55 million individuals. They include children and adults in low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled, many of whom would be uninsured in the absence of a strong and vital Medicaid program. Medicaid is also a major source of financing for long-term care and a primary funding source for America's safety net institutions, including many Catholic hospitals that serve a disproportionate share of the low-income, uninsured, and underinsured in their communities every day.

Public health insurance programs such as Medicaid are the foundation of our nation's safety net and provide necessary health care services to working families, children, the elderly, and the disabled. The mission of the Catholic health ministry, in accordance with the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, calls us to be distinguished through "service to and advocacy for those people whose social condition puts them at the margins of our society and makes them particularly vulnerable to discrimination." Preserving and strengthening programs like Medicaid is just one facet of the Catholic health ministry's mission and an important step in working toward a future of accessible and affordable health care for all.

For more information, see the related documents under Medicaid Communications and the policy brief Preserving Medicaid.