“We assume that the growth in our Medicaid patient base and utilization is related at least in large part to Medicaid expansion”, said Filton in an analyst conference.

In a recent weekly address, President Obama stated that the Affordable Care Act “finished the job” that Medicare and Medicaid started 50 years ago.

Americans say they are in better health and have better healthcare two years after health insurance became available under the Affordable Care Act (ACA, also known as Obamacare).

With 50 years of experience serving growing numbers of America’s children, a new body of research is able to take a look at the long-term effects of childhood Medicaid coverage. It was called Medicare, and it is a program and promise we, as Americans, hold dear. Advances in radiation therapy and access to treatments allows many seniors to get their cancer treated effectively, while maintaining their work and lifestyles. For 50 years, these two programs have been protecting the health and well-being of millions of American families, saving lives and improving the economic security of our nation. Just 415,000 people chose private insurance plans; the rest joined Medicaid. Every American over 65 has access to affordable health care.

A handful of state senators killed the Insure Tennessee proposal from Gov. Bill Haslam that would have expanded health insurance coverage to the working poor using federal Medicaid dollars. And regular re-evaluation is needed in order to ensure that people across the nation get coverage.

Rhode Island has been given the green light for a pilot program to coordinate health care for people enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid. However, as the laws have proven in the past, through their various successes and pitfalls, Medicare and Medicaid have the ability to transform healthcare. Here in Region 10, which includes Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, there are over 3 million Medicaid/CHIP enrollees and nearly 2 million Medicare enrollees, covering almost 39 percent of our population’s healthcare needs. “In doing so, Medicare has kept up with dramatic demographic changes and led the charge toward improving health care delivery” is said in the statement.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has a post with 10 facts about Medicaid and Medicare. “We’ve done a lot of tremendous work in this area, and we continue to do that because we know that that’s going to help keep the program solvent for many more decades to come”.

Susan Johnson is regional director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Region 10.