Medicaid, the quiet giant of health care debate

Roughly two out of three people in nursing homes in Wisconsin are dependent on Medicaid to pay for their care. They account for almost $1 billion of the $7 billion that Wisconsin and the federal government will spend on the health program this fiscal year. Medicaid, which covers low-income families with children under 19 as well as the elderly and disabled who are impoverished, has received far less attention in the presidential campaign than Medicare. But Medicaid, which costs about $400 billion a year, provides health care for more people - roughly 1 million in Wisconsin and more than 60 million nationwide. (JOURNAL SENTINEL, 11/5)