Suchergebnisse

The Medicaid program was enacted in 1965 for the purpose of providing federal cost sharing in the payment for medical services for the indigent. Although there are major differences among the states in eligibility criteria and benefits, the federal law requires that benefits include payment for long-term care services. The article notes that certain provisions of the law enable middle-class individuals to transfer assets and to use other means of qualifying for Medicaid. These practices, especially Medicaid estate planning, enable middle-class persons to retain their assets in their families rather than "spending down" to qualify for Medicaid benefits. This article argues that these practices constitute a form of legal welfare fraud. The reality of the long-term care provisions of the Medicaid program can be seen as backfiring in ways that undermine the intended purpose of the program and that have negative consequences for the general social good.

Background: Factors associated with Asian/Pacific-Islander adolescent adjustment is a greatly neglected research area.Aims: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relation between demographic, social and adjustment measures based on a large-scale investigation of Asian/Pacific-Islander youths.Method: A total of 2577 adolescents were surveyed across 4 public schools in Hawai'i during the 1992-1993 school year.Results: Three social variables (number of relatives frequently seen, family support and friends' support) exhibited statistically significant but low correlations. Family support had the highest negative association with the four psychiatric symptoms (depression, anxiety, aggression, substance use). Friends' support was inconsistently associated with the adjustment measures, and the number of relatives frequently seen resulted in negligible effects. In contrast, demographic variables, especially ethnicity, played a much greater role in the association with the four school-related measures (grade-point average, absences, suspensions, conduct infractions).Discussion: For Asian/Pacific-Islander youths, the quality of the social supports, including family relations, may be particularly important in the adolescents' adjustment. When examining school-related outcomes, demographic variables, with particular emphases on ethnicity and culture, must be considered. When developing and implementing prevention and intervention services and programs, consideration of family and ethnic-cultural influences should be taken into account, with further research needed in several related domains: other SES influences, life stressors, migration-generational effects, ethnic identity, self-concept indicators and socio-political aspects.