A US federal and state program providing medical care for people with limited income.
Coined in 1965 as a portmanteau of 'medical' and 'aid.' Created alongside Medicare as part of President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programs, combining the Latin medicus (physician) with English 'aid' from Old French aide.
Medicaid serves more Americans than any other health insurance program, covering over 70 million people, yet it operates differently in each state due to federal-state partnership structure - making it simultaneously unified and fragmented.
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