As lawmakers look for ways to cut the federal deficit, Medicaid stands out as one of the biggest targets.

The program, jointly financed by the federal government and the states, provides health insurance coverage to more than 50 million poor and disabled Americans. In Georgia, Medicaid and another program for lower-income families, PeachCare, cover a total of 1.7 million people – most of them children.

Medicaid pays for a majority of births in the state, and a majority of nursing home residents are also covered by it. So the program’s impact is enormous – on medical providers, taxpayers, and beneficiaries and their families.

Dr. Gayathri Suresh Kumar, in a new GHN Commentary, discusses the proposed cuts to Medicaid, as well as the planned expansion of the program if the health reform law is fully implemented.

She writes of a patient with obstructive sleep apnea who lost his job and his health insurance. ‘’Without treatment, his condition could deteriorate to more severe medical complications, and possibly even death,’’ writes Kumar, a Grady Memorial Hospital physician.

Here’s a link to Kumar’s Commentary.

Georgia Health News welcomes Commentary submissions. If you would like to propose a Commentary piece for Georgia Health News, please e-mail Andy Miller, editor of GHN, at  amiller@georgiahealthnews.com