The Medicaid Stress Test.

The article looks at the U.S. federally funded insurance program Medicaid as of 2011. Topics discussed include budget cuts that are limiting services Medicaid provides, how increased poverty is making more people eligible for the program, and attempts by the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama to stem the cuts by giving Medicaid additional funds through the U.S. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Also considered is how members of the U.S. Republican party (GOP), including House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan, want to replace federal eligibility mandates with block grants and cut federal contributions to the program.