Should Medicaid cover elective treatments like IVF, LASIK eye surgery, ect?

Question

Why or why not?
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For clarity, Medicaid in the United States is a social health care program for families and individuals with limited resources. The Health Insurance Association of America describes Medicaid as a "government insurance program for persons of all ages whose income and resources are insufficient to pay for health care". It is to assist low income families/people who otherwise couldn't afford things like doctors visits and prescription medications.

Answer

That's how welfare systems become overstretched and fail.

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Nope. If you're already on assistance, you obviously don't have the money to raise a child without being on assistance. Yeah it might suck for those who want kids and can't concieve, but that should push them to find a better job with better pay/benefits. Lasik eye surgery I could probably get behind if there's a legitimate reason as to why they can't wear glasses/contacts.

Answer

I think if medicaid covered those things when most insurances don't, it would create even more hostility from the whiney people who think everything is unfair. There's already great hostility towards people on government assistance and we don't need to add to that. I think that for now, it should only cover medically necessary procedures or what most insurances cover.

Answer

These are all extra non necessary medical procedures, so no.

If someone wants these they should go to technical school or college, get a better job, save up, get private insurance or save for out of pocket pay, and then get the procedures they want.

Many really great private insurances don't even cover IVF. So...

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I don't see why not. Look at LASIK for example. It costs about 4K at the top of the line. That sounds like a lot, but then that's it. Done. Eye glasses and/or contacts will add up to considerably more than that over the years. Since it saves funds long term, the only reason not to cover it is to punish poor people for being poor, and I can't get behind that. 😐

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I think it should, because I don't look at them as elective procedures. Families trying to have a family cannot help the fact that they cannot conceive, and someone who has bad eyesight doesn't want to go under any procedure to correct that. Having to buy contacts and/or prescription glasses are a pain, so having this procedure done cuts down the money for prescription glasses and/or contacts. However, there is an exception with those who are legally blind without the procedure and are not candidates for the procedure.

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It's broken now. This would decimate the program.

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IVF, no. Having a child is not life or death and doesn't lessen your quality of life of you don't have a child.

Eye surgery, yes. Eye health is just as important as the rest of your health and can impact quality of life if it isn't treated in a timely manner.

Answer

Those are considered "cosmetic" procedures which means they are not a necessity. Beggars can't be choosers and if those of us who pay loads of money for insurance can't even get those procedures covered then why should those that don't have to pay that much get them? Also, that would raise taxes because there would need to be more money put into the government funded healthcare programs to cover costs of these procedures for patients.

Answer

Eye surgery that can save you money and not as effective treatments in the long run? Sure, but that wouldn't happen. It would actually help people

Should Medicaid cover elective treatments like IVF, LASIK eye surgery, ect?

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