Medicaid Eligibility

 

We chose to map the number of people who are eligible for Medicaid by county because we think it can create a good idea of how healthy or unhealthy people are by Medicaid healthcare standards. If a person is eligible for a certain type of Medicaid then the idea is that they are less healthy than the average person. The legend ascends from light colors to darker colors by the total number of people eligible, and if you click on any county there are is data on the number of people who are eligible for certain types of popular healthcare. It is hard to tell how healthy certain counties are without comparisons to other places in the US, but compared to the rest of NY it seems that upstate is the healthiest (by having the least number of eligibles for Medicaid). Jefferson, Saint Lawrence, and Oswego have just over 20,000 people which are much higher than the surrounding counties and the Adirondack region, and this just barely includes them in the pink areas. The county with the lowest number of eligibles is also in the Upstate area, Hamilton County. The areas with the highest number of eligible people are the Long Island and NYC region, and Buffalo and Rochester areas. I find it interesting that there are little red areas, although it is higher on the scale it also has the largest range of values and is not even the highest category. There are only three counties that have between 60,000 and 120,000 eligible people. This is hard data to analyze when you think about the total number of counties and the fact that there are four counties with 120,000 – 170,000 eligible people. 

         To address the darkest areas, the purple, they have the most people with eligibility simply because these are the most populated regions. Rochester is not the most populated area in the state, but it is a big city for Western NY and is one of the larger counties, especially to have a major city in it. We have discussed Buffalos poor health in class and their downsizing city, so one reason for high Medicaid eligibility could be the elderly people that have always lived in the area and didn’t move away from the city with younger generations. A lot of the rural areas, such as the Adirondack Region and the area slightly west of the Finger Lakes have low numbers for people on Medicaid because of the lower populations, and also because of less development in the medical field. There are not as many clinics and hospitals in rural areas so people less access to medical care. Also, especially in the Adirondack region and upstate, there is a lot of opportunity for outdoor exercise and activities that keep people healthy, and the people in these areas generally like to participate in such activities. This would explain why Hamilton County is the lowest, but there are other areas in the Adirondack region and upstate that have higher numbers. I think the number of eligibles in Hamilton County is so low because there is a low population density there. Hamilton County has the highest number of parks and no notable cities to provide better access to healthcare and a higher population. The wealthier higher populated areas have more people eligible for Medicaid simply because there are more people, and there is higher wealth there so there will also be better access to healthcare and more people will take advantage of this. 

           The data that is mapped was taken from the New York State Department of Health webpage and was recorded in 2010. There is data provided for eligibility and expenditures for Medicaid from 1997-2010. The tables have data on TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), Safety Net coverage (Kids and adults), aged and elderly, blind and disabled, and family health plus. The NY State Department of Health website is a branch of the NY.Gov portal which contains links to data on other governmental agencies and websites. The Medicaid Expenditures and Eligibility data was published by the former NY State Department of Social Services, now the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, and is part of an annual report.