According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Medicaid is for people who cannot afford medical insurance. The rules and regulations that govern Medicaid, whether you are eligible, are determined by each state. In other words, states determine what is a “needy” group and who would be eligible for Medicaid assistance. [Type in Medicaid on Google and you will be directed the Department of Health and Human Services.]
In the HHS General Medicaid brochure “Categorically Needy” and “Medically Needy” are defined. However, not all states have the “Medically Needy” category. A list of mandatory services for the “Categorically Needy” is also provided in this brochure.
Getting to the correct page: At the top of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services there is a contact link and the page does not display a phone number for Medicaid for individual states; scroll down to the bottom where there is the “Related Links Inside CMS” section and select “Medicaid-List of State Health Departments”. Now choose your state and subtopics… under “Contacts Whose Organization Type Is” select “State Medical Assistance Office” and then click “Show Contacts”, leave all other subtopics alone or at the default setting. A state specific set of information (phone number and Web site) will appear and you can then click to go to the specific state’s Web site.
Once at the State Specific Health Department site there will be specific contact instructions and further information on Medicaid. Again, Medicaid is defined by the Department of HHS and the states determine eligibility.
